Governor Andrew Cuomo briefly spoke with the press this morning, just ahead of the ticker tape parade for the U.S. women’s national soccer team. Cuomo arrived just before his gaggle and departed directly from the end of the parade, not joining Mayor de Blasio’s pre-parade reception for the team nor the large ceremony held in City Hall plaza after the parade. Cuomo and de Blasio did not interact or appear together during the parade.
Cuomo dismissed the ongoing friction between he and the mayor as “soap opera that you want to cover because you guys like the drama.” He confirmed that he has not spoken with the mayor since de Blasio returned from vacation this week, and said that he had no current plans to do so. He responded to parade questions with references to the Women’s Equality Party and the Women’s Equality Agenda, saying that “here in New York we have a very big movement about women’s empowerment.”
There was a bit of inter-journalist friction as the initial questioner did not willingly yield the floor.