NY State Sen. Gustavo Rivera to Gov. Cuomo: Acknowledge Your Mistakes

By Neil A. Carousso

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — New York officials aim to fix inequities in its vaccine distribution after a damning report this week that showed white New Yorkers received 48 percent of the city’s COVID-19 vaccines while Blacks received 11 percent of the doses, 15 percent went to Asians and another 15 percent to Latinos.

New York State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-NY-33), the chair of the health committee, called on Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) to listen to his public health experts in the wake of nine state health officials resigning over the Governor’s public disparagement of experts’ guidance in responding to the pandemic, as reported by The New York Times.

“If you have made a mistake, Governor, acknowledge it, and then, try to move forward and build from that and listen to folks who are experts who can help you make better choices in the future,” Sen. Rivera addressed Gov. Cuomo on The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez. “Sometimes, he just doesn’t,” he added.

Lopez also asked him about the recent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James that showed the Cuomo administration undercounted nursing home deaths “by as much as 50 percent.”

“The reason why this data is so important is for us to make better policy to make certain that we can avert unnecessary deaths,” sad Sen. Rivera, noting he chaired 30 hours of hearings on the impact of COVID-19 in nursing homes last summer without cooperation from the Cuomo administration.

Hear Lopez’s full interview with Sen. Rivera on The 880 Weekly Rewind podcast above, plus how former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s presence looms large over Super Bowl LV, and “The Good Life” of legendary singer Tony Bennett whose wife revealed was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease four years ago.

Neil A. Carousso produces The 880 Weekly Rewind with Lynda Lopez Friday nights at 7 PM on WCBS Newsradio 880.