Governor Andrew Cuomo still plans to leave office Monday, Aug. 23, despite ramping up his public presence in the lead up to Tropical Storm Henri.
“Yes, my final day is tomorrow, Tuesday morning,” said the outgoing governor in response to a question from amNewYork Metro during a virtual storm press briefing Sunday morning.
The governor is officially scheduled to leave by 11:59 p.m. Monday, but appeared to misspeak, referring to Tuesday, Aug. 24, when Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul is slated to replace him as New York State’s chief executive.
Cuomo spokesman Shams Tarek declined to clarify the statement and referred to Hochul for further comment. Hochul’s office did not respond for clarification.
For the second day in a row, the scandal-ridden governor assembled an array of agency leaders for a broadcast conference to talk about the Empire State’s plans for Henri, which was expected to make landfall on eastern Long Island around 11 a.m. On Sunday, he was flanked by acting Metropolitan Transportation Authority chief Janno Lieber and Port Authority executive director Rick Cotton.