Bye, Bye Cuomo! Dozens of young men gather at Union Square meeting organized by Instagram star to celebrate the NY Governor resigning
A crowd of maskless young men gathered in Union Square last night to celebrate the downfall of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who resigned on Tuesday over a raft of sexual harassment allegations.
The 'Bye, Bye Cuomo' party was attended by hundreds and hosted by Instagram sensation Sidetalk NYC, known for its interviews with outspoken New Yorkers on a range of issues from marijuana to Covid-19.
Last night, the raucous crowd reveled in the 63-year-old former Governor's fall from grace, cheering and whistling as brutal put-downs about his alleged groping of breasts and buttocks were hollered into a microphone.
Earlier, Cuomo announced his exit at a disastrous press conference - a dramatic turn for the lawmaker who last year found himself tipped for the White House for his response to the pandemic.
Cuomo defiantly denied intentionally mistreating women, blaming his behavior on the 'redrawn lines' of social decency and claiming that the pressure for his ouster was politically motivated.
But he admitted that fighting back in this 'too hot' political climate would subject the state to months of turmoil.
'The best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing,' Cuomo said in the televised address.
The 'Bye, Bye Cuomo' party was attended by hundreds and hosted by Instagram sensation Sidetalk NYC, known for their interviews with outspoken New Yorkers on a range of issues from marijuana to Covid-19 (pictured: Sidetalk NYC host Trent Simonian interviews someone as young men standing around go wild and film the antics on their phones)
Sidetalk NYC host Trent Simonian gestures as he interviews people about Cuomo in front of a crowd of revelers in Union Square, Manhattan
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo walks with his daughter Michaela, 23, to a helicopter at the heliport in Lower Manhattan shortly after announcing his resignation on Tuesday, a week after being dubbed a serial sexual harasser by Attorney General Letitia James
A young man is asked his view on the Governor (left) and another showed up in a Moses outfit
A young man is interviewed about Cuomo's fall from grace in Union Square last night
A wide-eyed interviewee grips the crowd assembled for the party on the plaza last night
The third-term governor's resignation, which will take effect in two weeks, was announced as momentum built in the legislature to remove him by impeachment and after nearly the entire Democratic establishment had turned against him, with President Joe Biden joining those calling on him to resign.
The decision came a week after New York's attorney general released the results of an investigation that found Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 women.
Investigators said he subjected women to unwanted kisses; groped their breasts or buttocks or otherwise touched them inappropriately; made insinuating remarks about their looks and their sex lives; and created a work environment 'rife with fear and intimidation.'
At the same time, Cuomo was under fire over the discovery that his administration had concealed thousands of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home patients.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a 62-year-old Democrat and former member of Congress from the Buffalo area, will become the state's 57th governor and the first woman to hold the post.
She said Cuomo's resignation was 'the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers.'
The #MeToo-era scandal cut short not just a career but a dynasty: Cuomo's father, Mario Cuomo, was governor in the 1980s and '90s, and the younger Cuomo was often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate.
Even as the scandal mushroomed, he was planning to run for reelection in 2022.
Republicans exulted in Cuomo's departure but still urged impeachment, which could prevent him from running for office again.
'This resignation is simply an attempt to avoid real accountability,' state GOP chair Nick Langworthy said.
At the White House, Biden said: 'I respect the governor's decision.'
At the same time, he said Cuomo had 'done a helluva job' on infrastructure and voting rights, and 'that's why it's so sad.'
'From the beginning, I simply asked that the governor stop his abusive behavior,' Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to accuse Cuomo publicly of harassment, tweeted Tuesday.
'It became abundantly clear he was unable to do that, instead attacking and blaming victims until the end.'
Cuomo still faces the possibility of criminal charges, with a number of prosecutors around the state continuing to investigate him.
At least one of his accusers has filed a criminal complaint.
The governor prefaced his resignation with a 45-minute defense from his lawyer and his own insistence that his behavior - while sometimes insensitive, off-putting or 'too familiar' - had been used against him as a weapon in a political environment where 'rashness has replaced reasonableness.'
A massive crowd is seen cheering as someone speaks into a microphone to skewer Cuomo
A young man speaks into a microphone at the raucous event in Union Square last night
Young men crowd around the proceedings, many holding their phones up to the film the social media sensation at work
A young man is seen with a face mask under his chin, while most appear to have foregone any social distancing concerns
The crowd started to gather in the Manhattan park from around 8.30pm on Tuesday night
'I am a fighter, and my instinct is to fight through this controversy because I truly believe it is politically motivated. I believe it is unfair and it is untruthful,' he said, but added that he didn't want 'distractions' to consume the state government as it grapples with the pandemic and other problems.
The string of accusations began in news reports last December and went on for months.
Cuomo called some of the allegations fabricated and denied he touched anyone inappropriately.
But he acknowledged making some aides uncomfortable with comments he said he intended as playful, and he apologized for some of his behavior.
He portrayed some encounters as misunderstandings attributable to 'generational or cultural' differences, invoking his upbringing in an affectionate Italian American family.
The attorney general's investigation backed up the women's accounts and added lurid new ones, turning up the pressure on Cuomo.
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