Cuomo chafes as he nears the exit

Daily Point

No quiet in Albany after the storm

While photos at the Executive Mansion in Albany showed the rental trucks moving him out, still-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo seemed bent Friday on sending a message through surrogates that all the contention around him won’t be over and done when he leaves office after the weekend.

For reasons related to his public image and personal interest, Cuomo continues to argue details of that damning report from Attorney General Tish James and aggressively deny accusations of any sexual misconduct. His outside counsel Rita Glavin appealed in a livestreamed talk for raw documentary materials that formed the basis of conclusions leading up to the governor’s resignation and long goodbye. She also demanded that Cuomo’s side have input in the state Assembly’s final impeachment probe report through exhibits and responses.

An op-ed piece by Cuomo’s loyal aide Rich Azzopardi in the New York Daily News suggested other ways in which he’s not disappearing so soon. It says the governor was "railroaded."

"The socialist wing of the Democratic Party is the tail wagging the dog," Azzopardi writes. "Cuomo has long been the institutional force opposing them and their prime target." Excluded from the piece is any definition of "them" or who belongs to said "wing" but it does bewail the status of the state party Cuomo led for a decade but whose players in city, local, state and federal elected positions openly rebelled against his leadership.

Also from Azzopardi: "The fix was in and an election was overturned on flimsy evidence and twisted process. Whatever you think of Andrew Cuomo, that is a loss for values we are supposed to cherish. Also, mark my words: Tish James will be announcing a run for governor within months."

Whether the arguments are legal or political, they are crafted to maximize the number of people who will believe that Cuomo retains the moral capital of one who has been terribly wronged. Nobody can say for sure how that narrative might serve him in the future.

— Dan Janison @Danjanison

Talking Point

Close encounters of the mask kind

With some Long Island Rail Road riders grumbling about masks — either the legal need for them or annoyance at mask delinquents, as documented by Newsday this week — the MTA has released data on the authority’s thousands of mask encounters with riders since last September.

The data shows more than 58,000 encounters systemwide, broken down in the following way:

• 31,296 for "verbal compliance," when a person improperly wearing a mask is asked to adjust it, and complies.

• 24,037 for "mask distributed," when a person enters the system without a mask, is given a mask, and dons it.

• 2,988 for "no mask/exited," when a maskless person enters the system, refuses a free mask, and is asked to leave.

There have also been 41 last-resort instances of $50 fines for not wearing a mask, a violation of an MTA rule.

The MTA did not provide data broken down for the LIRR alone. And though there were particular days with high numbers of encounters of various kinds — 532 masks distributed on July 23, 2021, and 363 instances of verbal compliance on Sept. 14, 2020 — MTA officials cautioned against reading too much into that. "It tracks daily activity on enforcement," MTA rep Michael Cortez told The Point.

Beyond these encounters, the MTA has highlighted its mask-related advertising, PPE vending machines, onboard bus dispensers, and masks available at subway stations and railroad ticket booths as measures to increase mask use. Expect more of that as even more riders return to the rails and to work as summer turns to fall.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Pencil Point

What McConnell will investigate

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/nationalcartoons

Final Point

In the news, 8/20

Welcome to this week’s news quiz, based on events that took place earlier this week. As usual, provide the answer for each clue, one letter per blank. The first letter of each answer, taken in order, spells the name of one of the American politicians who tested positive this week for COVID-19. Answers will appear in Monday’s edition of The Point.

• _ _ _ _ _ The tropical depression that soaked Haiti two days after it was ravaged by an earthquake.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo filed papers for this.
• _ _ _ _ _ The number of months after being vaccinated that Americans will be eligible for a booster shot.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Yankees pitcher who returned to the mound after being sidelined by COVID-19.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Nassau County mall where a couple left a 1-year-old inside a locked car, leading to their arrest by police.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Iconic downtown Huntington store facing eviction over nonpayment of rent.
• _ _ _ _ _ _ Last name of the country music superstar who canceled the remainder of his stadium tour because of COVID-19 concerns (he shares his first name with a "Wayne’s World" star).
• _ _ _ _ _ Construction began in Chicago on this former chief of state’s presidential center.
• _ - _ _ _ _ _ _ Company that suffered a major data breach compromising the personal information of 40 million customers.
• _ _ _ _ _ Company whose automated driving system is being investigated by the federal government after a series of crashes with parked emergency vehicles.

— Michael Dobie @mwdobie

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