The political rivalry between Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio significantly hampered New York City’s delayed and fragmented COVID-19 response, resulting in thousands of preventable deaths. The delayed lockdown in New York (March 22) compared to California (March 16) contributed to a nearly tenfold higher death toll. Cuomo frequently dismissed de Blasio’s initiatives, including school closures, as simply an “opinion.”
A Rivalry That Cost Lives
The long-standing political feud between former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio took a deadly turn during the COVID-19 pandemic. While political rivalries between New York mayors and governors have historical precedent, the Cuomo-de Blasio conflict proved particularly destructive during a public health emergency. Cuomo, a centrist with Third Way politics, and de Blasio, who leaned more center-left, allowed their personal animosity to override effective governance when New Yorkers needed unified leadership most.
Their dysfunctional relationship was on full display in March 2020 when de Blasio announced the closure of public schools to curb virus spread. Cuomo immediately undermined the mayor, dismissing the announcement as merely an “opinion” and creating public confusion during a critical moment. This pattern of conflicting messages continued throughout the pandemic, leaving citizens uncertain about which leader to follow and which guidelines to observe.
The facts are in: Cuomo’s arrogance and deception sabotaged our COVID response. Instead of working with city officials, he micromanaged, withheld data, and left New Yorkers in chaos.Â
Now, he wants to run NYC? We can’t afford another disaster.Â
It’s time for real leadership. https://t.co/FHPaHmg6H9
— Curtis Sliwa (@CurtisSliwa) March 17, 2025
Delayed Response Compared to Other States
New York’s fractured leadership stands in stark contrast to California’s more decisive early action. San Francisco Mayor London Breed issued a shelter-in-place order on March 16, 2020, stating bluntly, “We need to shut this s**t down.” Meanwhile, New York delayed similar measures until March 22, despite being an emerging epicenter of infection. This six-day difference proved catastrophic, as COVID-19 spread exponentially through the densely populated city.
Even as de Blasio finally recognized the need for city-wide , “I think it’s gotten to a place where the decision has to be made very soon,” Cuomo pushed back. The governor publicly declared, “No city in the state can quarantine itself without state approval. I have no plan whatsoever to quarantine any city.” This power struggle delayed critical containment measures while the virus spread unchecked throughout New York City communities.
Sorry to say, but after Cuomo killed a bunch of elderly people during covid, after diblasio couldn't explain where a billion dollars went that his wife got for her non profit, these people will still vote drmocrat. https://t.co/m6eD25xX1D
— Bovius (@Bovius_ccc2020) March 18, 2025
Resource Management Failures
As the first COVID-19 case in New York was reported on March 1, 2020, the city quickly became a major virus epicenter, facing critical shortages in hospital beds, personal protective equipment, ventilators, and medical staffing. The “New York State onPause executive order wasn’t announced until March 20, after weeks of delay and confusion. Even as temporary hospitals were constructed and hotel rooms converted to increase capacity, the disjointed leadership complicated resource distribution.
“We need to treat this like wartime, and we have a simple mission: protect the people most vulnerable and protect our health care system. – Mayor of NYC Bill de Blasio
De Blasio’s administration faced criticism for initial complacency and poor communication with health officials, while Cuomo’s need to assert dominance over city initiatives hampered coordinated response efforts. Health experts later suggested that earlier, unified action in New York could have potentially halved the death toll, which eventually exceeded 11,000 city residents. The political infighting proved deadlier than either leader seemed willing to acknowledge.
Learning From Failure
The New York COVID-19 experience stands as a stark warning about the dangers of political rivalry during public health emergencies. When de Blasio’s successor, Eric Adams, took office, he famously told Cuomo’s successor, Kathy Hochul, to “cut the crap” and work together. The message acknowledged the deadly legacy of their predecessors’ inability to cooperate. While California’s early, decisive action helped limit casualties, New York’s delayed, contradictory approach contributed to a death toll nearly ten times higher.
The devastating results of the Cuomo-de Blasio feud underscore the critical importance of unified leadership during crises. Beyond the political calculations and personal animosities, the conflicting messages from state and city leadership created unnecessary confusion when clarity was most needed. For many New York families who lost loved ones to COVID-19, the question remains how many deaths might have been prevented had the state’s leaders put public safety above political positioning.