STATEMENT FROM SENATOR SUE SERINO

ALBANY, NY—Senator Sue Serino, Ranking Member of the State Senate’s Aging Committee, released the statement below following news that the Governor’s efforts to hide data on New York’s nursing home deaths directly coincided with his lucrative book deal:

“Many of us have long suspected that the Governor's gross book deal was at the heart of his Administration's attempts to downplay the death toll in New York's nursing homes, but to see it spelled out in black and white in the New York Times and the Buffalo News makes my stomach turn. While thousands of New York families were desperately seeking answers to questions surrounding the deaths of their loved ones, this Administration was putting profit and personal gain ahead of their very real pain.

Since the start of the year, we have learned that this Administration actively hid data on nursing home deaths, used state resources for personal gain, and may have politicized the distribution of life-saving vaccines. There have been multiple allegations of sexual harassment, bullying and toxic leadership at the hands of this Governor. What more could the Legislature’s Supermajority need to stop the stall and move forward with a real impeachment process?

Right now, this same Administration is sitting behind a closed door negotiating the most consequential State Budget of our time. It is absolutely not right. We will not stop pushing for justice and accountability for an Administration that has shown a blatant disregard for our state's most vulnerable time and again.”

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