Free Republic

A Staten Island judge lifted mask mandates for toddlers citywide Friday — but Mayor Eric Adams vowed shortly after to keep the rule in place, citing a new COVID-19 variant and saying the city is appealing the judgement. The ruling by Richmond County State Supreme Court Judge Ralph Porzio struck down the city rule requiring kids ages 2 to 4 wear masks — rendering it immediately unenforceable in schools and daycares and calling it “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable,” according to court documents. “It’s effective immediately,” attorney Michael Chessa said Friday after arguing for a permanent injunction of the ongoing face...

The Democratic leaders of both Long Island counties have joined with dozens of Republican officials around the state to defy Gov. Kathy Hochul’s private-sector mask mandate — and boost the ranks of renegade county governments to nearly two-thirds the total. “While we will not be actively enforcing the mandate, we will respond to complaints and assist businesses with education and compliance however we can,” Democratic Nassau County Executive Laura Curran told The Post on Friday. ... Among the Big Apple’s five northern suburbs, only Westchester County has said it will crack down on violators — although in extremely vague and...

Disgraced Gov. Cuomo’s one-time top aide took a none-too-subtle swipe at his successor Friday evening over her handling of the coronavirus. “Time to shift with the times — ribbon cuttings and photo ops drinking beers in UES bars maskless won’t get this job done,” Melissa DeRosa, the former secretary to the governor said in a tweet that was later deleted.

Despite claiming that officials in her administration don’t support defunding police, Gov. Kathy Hochul has tapped a second person who does to a key post — a failed New York City Council candidate who wants to slash the NYPD budget by $3 billion. On Friday, Hochul appointed Amit Bagga to be her deputy secretary for intergovernmental affairs. He lost the City Council primary in June for Queens’ District 26 seat despite support from Democratic socialist and defund proponent Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez’s political action committee. Bagga’s archived campaign website, which was taken down last week, says he wants to cut...

The head of the country’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group defiantly tweeted Sunday that he will not resign over his role in ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attempts at damage control amid a sexual harassment scandal. Alphonso David - who took over the Human Rights Campaign after serving as Cuomo’s chief counsel from 2015 to 2019 - claimed in his statement that he had been asked to step down even after an independent review found “no indication of wrongdoing.” “The board co-chairs have now asked me to consider resigning, not because of any wrongdoing, but because they feel the incident has been a...

State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said Thursday that another woman would have to come forward with allegations of sexual harassment by Gov. Andrew Cuomo before she would call for him to resign. Stewart-Cousins (D-Westchester) made the taped remarks on Albany public affairs television program, “Capital Tonight,” which were recorded just hours before CBS News broadcast a wrenching interview with one of Cuomo’s three accusers. “Any further people coming forward, I think it would be time to resign,” she told Spectrum News’ Susan Arbetter in response to a question about what it would take for her to call for Cuomo’s...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday all but threatened President Trump’s safety if he returns to New York City in a rant responding to an exclusive story by The Post that Trump is looking to pull federal funds from “lawless” cities including New York. Cuomo called an emergency press briefing within a half-hour on Wednesday night to tear into Trump for the order, which cites New York’s rising murder rate and defunding of the NYPD. “He better have an army if he thinks he’s gonna walk down the street in New York. New Yorkers don’t want to have anything...

State officials are investigating allegations of sexual misconduct and related cover-ups at NBC News -- and have interviewed potential witnesses including Megyn Kelly, The Post has learned... Former NBC staffer Brooke Nevils, who claims that Lauer raped her in 2014, is also among those who’ve been interviewed, as is Addie Zinone, who’s said she had an affair with Lauer when she was a "Today" show production assistant in 2000, sources said. Kelly -- who left NBC News with her $30 million contract intact following a "blackface" row in 2017 -- sat down with investigators in January, according to a source...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo revealed the key to navigating his contentious relationship with President Trump ahead of their coronavirus summit Tuesday at the White House: simple New York bluntness.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will meet President Trump for an Oval Office visit on Tuesday afternoon, just days after they bitterly clashed over the coronavirus pandemic, Trump announced. “I think the governor is coming to see us tomorrow, he’s coming to see us tomorrow afternoon,” Trump told reporters Monday during the White House coronavirus task force briefing. “Andrew is going to be coming in with some of his people and we’re looking forward to that,” he continued after praising the hard-hit Empire State’s response to the virus. The governor’s office confirmed the Washington visit to The Post.

New York City schools had the most “violent and disruptive incidents” in the state last year — accounting for more than half, with incidents including assaults, sexual offenses and bomb threats, a new report reveals. The data released Tuesday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli shows 17,991 incidents out of 32,084 statewide came from Big Apple public and charter schools — or 56% of the state’s total.

A loophole in the new law granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants could allow hundreds of thousands of people to fraudulently register to vote in New York, according to critics, the state Board of Elections and the bill’s own sponsor. The Green Light Bill, which passed the Senate 33-29 Monday and was signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, allows illegal immigrants to obtain “standard” state driver’s licenses that can be used for identification and to board domestic flights. But it is also the sole document required to register to vote, according to officials. Even legislative sponsor Luis Sepúlveda (D-Bronx) admitted the...

ALBANY — The tax filings of President Trump and all public elected officials in New York will be fair game for congressional Democrats under a new law. The state Legislature on Wednesday approved a bill that allows the state Department of Taxation and Finance to release tax returns of thousands of New Yorkers upon an official request by Congress. Gov. Andrew Cuomo previously said he would support the idea. “This bill stands for a principle of transparency in regards to top officials’ tax returns and recognizing that shedding light on conflicts, potential conflicts of interest is for a public purpose...

Taxpayers will be on the hook to fund state political campaigns under Albany’s new budget. It establishes a commission to “implement public campaign financing for legislative and statewide offices,” Gov. Cuomo said. It also authorizes spending up to $100 million annually in taxpayers’ money. “The commission will determine specific aspects of the public financing system, including eligibility thresholds, public financing limits, and contribution limits for participating candidates,” Cuomo said. Its recommendations must be submitted by Dec. 1, and lawmakers will get 20 days to accept or reject them. If the Assembly and Senate can’t decide, the panel’s decisions will automatically become...