Grieving New York Families Hold 'Funeral' for Andrew Cuomo's Coronavirus Book at Nursing Home

Outraged New Yorkers who lost family members in the state’s nursing homes staged a mock funeral Sunday for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) recent book, in which he touts his leadership during the coronavirus pandemic, despite thousands of deaths among senior citizens.

Cuomo’s book, American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic, has drawn widespread criticism.

In late March, Cuomo issued a directive requiring nursing homes to accept coronavirus patients, despite the availability of other options, including the U.S.N.S. Comfort and an Army field hospital at the Jacob Javitz Center.

After thousands of deaths, plus exposure by conservative radio host Mark Levin, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Post, Cuomo reversed his directive — some six weeks later. Thousands of people had died in the interim — deaths that critics say were preventable.

In a press release, the families said:

Today, grieving family members, surrounded by supporters, gathered in front of the Cobble Hill Health Center to demand an apology from Governor Cuomo on behalf of loved ones lost due to his March Nursing Home Advisory. The event, a funeral for the Governor’s leadership and integrity, featured a hearse and a coffin filled with copies of the Governor’s new book, written during the height of the pandemic in New York, when 32,935 New Yorkers died of COVID-19.

Peter Arbeeny, a lifelong Democrat, whose beloved father Norman Arbeeny was a casualty of the Cuomo Nursing Home Order said, “Our father was a beloved member of our community, sorely missed by many. We lost him needlessly because of Governor Cuomo’s nursing home directive. And now to learn that the Governor was writing a book while our loved ones were dying senselessly and our friends, family and neighbors were losing everything because of unscientific government decisions, is a gut punch to New Yorkers suffering through this crisis. Our grieving families need humility, not deflection. We need empathy, not ego. And we need accountability and an apology, not a book on ‘leadership.’”

Daniel Arbeeny said, “Today’s event was personally driven to honor loved ones, not a political stunt. We would like Governor Cuomo to take responsibility and to apologize for his shameless behavior in making COVID-19 a political issue, rather than doing what was best and safest for our loved ones. The nursing homes’ heroic staff and facilities were just as much victims as our families because of the Governor’s failed order to send COVID positive patients back into nursing homes. We still have no transparency from this administration on the true number of those who died because of the disastrous nursing home decision. Where is the accountability?”

On October 13th, Governor Cuomo released his book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic.” While he was writing this book, during the height of a global health crisis, of which New York was ground zero, New Yorkers were not allowed to honor loved ones with funerals, ceremonies or mercy meals. As the Governor admitted just this week, the lockdowns in New York are not based on any science or medical expertise, but rather are a “fear-based response.” Now, thousands of families are left heartbroken by his unscientific decisions.

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