Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing a fresh round of criticism over his car being parked illegally on the campaign trail in the New York City mayoral election.
Cuomo resigned the governorship in an avalanche of controversy over his alleged inappropriate and predatory behavior toward women, and controversy over how his mismanagement of nursing homes potentially worsened COVID deaths in New York during the pandemic. However, he is widely shown as the frontrunner in a crowded mayor's race as incumbent Eric Adams has seen his support deteriorate following accusations he accepted bribes connected to the Turkish government, although recent polls have shown a tightening race as progressive state Rep. Zohran Mamdani has made inroads with voters.
But on Monday, New York Daily News city hall reporter Josie Stratman posted an image of what appeared to be Cuomo's Dodge parked illegally in a left-turn lane outside a union headquarters.
"Reckless and unlawful — like so much of Andrew Cuomo’s behavior," Mamdani posted in response to the image.
According to Stratman, this is far from a one-off incident. Cuomo's car has been issued hundreds of dollars in citations since March, including four tickets for speeding in a school zone, one for illegally using a bus lane, and one for illegally idling in a no-standing zone.
Esther Jensen, Cuomo's campaign spokeswoman, clarified to Stratman that those tickets were all paid off, the campaign coordinated with police on this parking job, and downplayed the idea Cuomo himself did the parking job.
"Officers were on site and were conferred with. The car was attended to by a staffer at all times and were prepared to move it if asked, and there were no tickets from this event. The car is driven by multiple people, all of whom have been reminded to obey the speed limit, and there are no outstanding tickets."
However, a nearby NYPD officer confirmed to Stratman that the car was, in fact, parked illegally today, because "it got two tickets already."