Andrew Cuomo, the New York state governor, and Bill de Blasio, New York City’s mayor, have spent the past year blaming each other for the coronavirus’s heavy toll on the city. We explain who’s really in charge
FOR MANY New Yorkers the covid-19 pandemic has felt like being a child trapped with two bickering parents. Andrew Cuomo, the state’s governor, and Bill de Blasio, New York City’s mayor, have spent the past year blaming each other for the coronavirus’s heavy toll on the city, taking credit for what has gone right and undermining each other’s authority.
However, the mayor’s outsized influence can create a false sense of authority. He cannot, for example, set taxes or even change the operating hours of speed cameras. Nor is Mr de Blasio in charge of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , which runs the subway, buses and commuter trains, even though nearly half of New Yorkers think otherwise. And he is not entirely in charge of the city’s money.
New York’s constitution grants New York City the right to self-government or “home rule”, but the state retains ultimate authority. The governor, as the state’s chief executive officer, has wide latitude to intervene in local affairs. For example, in 2017 Mr Cuomo signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency over the MTA, suspending oversight mechanisms over contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The order was renewed for the 48th time in April.
The mayoral election is already demonstrating the tension between New York’s mayor and the state legislature. Andrew Yang, the leading candidate, is promising a basic income programme, which would probably require approval from the legislature. Mr Kaehny rues the fact that many New Yorkers will go to the polls unaware of how the city’s government works. “That blinds them to the fact that Albany really is the ultimate power,” he says.
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