Mayor de Blasio demanded that Gov. Cuomo expand the number of people who can be vaccinated for COVID "today" on Thursday, one day after a massive miscommunication between himself and the governor that left New Yorkers baffled over who is eligible receive the vaccine.
© HandoutNew York State Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (right)
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo (left) and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (right) (Handout/)
De Blasio likened himself and city workers to frontline soldiers in the fight against COVID and Cuomo to a general who sits safely in headquarters far from the action in what was a clear escalation in tensions between the feuding leaders.
In his morning press briefing Thursday, the mayor tried to explain why he announced on Wednesday that 25,000 city cops and an unspecified number of corrections officers would be able to receive vaccines, while just after his statements, Cuomo said that was not, in fact, the case.
"We were ready to go and do a huge vaccination effort at the Department of Correction and the NYPD, but we were told by the state that they would not allow that," de Blasio said Thursday. "They are allowing a smaller percentage, several thousand, NYPD medical corps members, and we're going ahead with those vaccinations, but we really think the rules couldn't be clearer."
Hizzoner then proceeded to highlight what he described as the state's definitions of the criteria for first responders now eligible to receive the vaccine. The list included first responders who "perform CPR," "use basic life support equipment" and "treat people in shock."
"I don't think it is at all grey," he said. "What do patrol officers do? Of course, they have to be ready to be able to perform CPR at a moment's notice. Of course, they have to be able to use life-saving equipment and deal with any kind of emergency of any type. What is grey here?"
The conflict between de Blasio and Cuomo stems from a lack of clarity of at what point the state will allow the cities to begin vaccinations for people in Phase 1B of the inoculation roll out plan. Right now, Phase 1A, which includes frontline hospital workers and people in nursing homes, is underway. But de Blasio has argued that 1B, which includes people 75 and older and first responders, should begin now because about 30% of the people in the 1A category in New York City have not registered to receive the vaccine.
"The state has NOT conveyed when or how 1B will begin. There are not clear guidelines about remaining doses or recipients from 1A," de Blasio spokesman Bill Neidhardt said.
Cuomo spokesman Peter Ajemian responded that the state "will not allow 1B to commence only with police; it also includes teachers, firefighters and other essential workers as well as 75+ year old New Yorkers - all eligible at the same time."
"We do not, and will not allow, prioritization of one group over any other in 1B," he said.
Ajemian also noted that the city has 917,000 eligible healthcare workers in 1A, but has "only administered 144,000 vaccines."
"New York City has received 304,000 dosages beginning in December through last week and administered less than 50 percent," he added.
For years, de Blasio and Cuomo have sparred publicly on a variety of issues - like whether the state should tax the wealthy or whether the state should increase the city's borrowing power or how to deal with a deer found in a Harlem park.
The feud over both the city and state governments' handling of vaccinations has been brewing since at least last week, with the governor notably threatening Monday to fine city public hospitals for not moving the vaccine quickly enough.
Typically, Cuomo has the upper hand in these battles, because as governor he wields more power.
But de Blasio suggested he is unafraid of the current approach backfiring.
"When a governor does something that is not in New York City's interest, you gotta stand up and fight for New Yorkers. That's what I'm doing," he said. "Guess what? We're at the frontline. Like in war, the generals are at back at the headquarters. We're at the frontline. At the frontline, here's what we're seeing - a lot of people aren't ready to take the vaccine, there are some people adamantly opposed to taking the vaccine in those categories within 1A."