NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said there has been no decision yet on whether New York City schools will be closed for the rest of the year, despite an announcement from Mayor Bill de Blasio earlier Saturday.
“That’s the mayor’s opinion,” Cuomo said of de Blasio’s announcement on schools. “It is my legal authority in this situation.”
In a major about-face for New York City families, Cuomo said the decision to close schools for the remainder of the year will be made on a region-wide basis, including schools in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties.
The decision to reopen schools would be made on the same basis in conjunction with businesses as well as schools and businesses in neighboring New Jersey and Connecticut, Cuomo said.
“I want to coordinate all those opinions and reopen them at the same time,” Cuomo said.
De Blasio’s press secretary Freddi Goldstein blasted the governor’s comments on Twitter.
“The governor’s reaction to us keeping schools closed is reminiscent of how he reacted when the mayor called for a shelter in place,” she tweeted. “We were right then and we’re right now. Schools will remain closed, just like how we eventually – days later – moved to a shelter in place model.”
When asked if he would be making a decision soon about the remainder of the school year, Cuomo said an announcement was not imminent.
“It’s not going to be resolved in the next few days,” he said, adding that more needs to be known about the spread of coronavirus.
We wanted parents and teachers to have certainty as early as possible. When the Mayor made the call, he informed the Governor (called and texted). Our staff also spoke. We told the public. Those are the facts. Let’s keep kids and their parents first.
— Freddi Goldstein (@FreddiGoldstein) April 11, 2020
