NEW YORK – New York’s first governor, Kathy Hochul, will take office on Tuesday, August 24.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation from office will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Monday, Aug. 23, Hochul spokeswoman Haley Viccaro said Tuesday.
Details of how the transfer of charges will take place were not released.
Hochul is likely to address the public sometime Tuesday for the first time as the state’s new governor.
Cuomo had announced on August 10 that he would resign from his post in 14 days, but did not specify exactly when he would resign.
The governor resigns amid a collapse of support from even his most loyal political allies following the release of a report supervised by state attorney general Letitia James that concluded that the governor had sexually harassed at least 11 women.
The governor denied touching anyone inappropriately and said some of his comments to women had been misinterpreted, but said he believed it would harm the state if he continued to fight to stay in office.
Cuomo filed the retirement papers on Tuesday, and his retirement will take effect on Sept. 1. It’s unclear how much his pension will be – he has 14.56 years of service credit, according to the state Comptroller’s office.
A large majority in the state Assembly had said they would impeach Cuomo if he did not resign.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said last week that he was abandoning the impeachment campaign, but on Monday, facing a bipartisan backlash, said the body’s Judiciary Committee would still finish its investigation into Cuomo’s conduct and issue a public report.
It is unclear when that report will come out.
In addition to investigating the harassment allegations, attorneys hired by the Assembly have been investigating the Cuomo administration’s handling of the COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes and its use of state resources for its $ pandemic book contract. 5 million.
The evidence gathered during the investigation is made available to committee members, but under strict security measures.
Assemblywoman Marjorie Byrnes, a Republican on the committee, said Tuesday that she and other committee members are examining the documents “in a room that is being guarded by the sergeant-at-arms.”
“If this material is never released to the public, then the people of this state and my district will never know the truth,” he said.
Hochul, a Democrat, spent Tuesday meeting in New York City to narrow down her selection for her successor as lieutenant governor.
She has vowed to move away from the Cuomo administration’s reputation as a “toxic” work environment and focus on addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about New York’s eviction protection for tenants.
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