New York Gov. Kathy Hochul fielded thinly veiled political jabs from two of her likely gubernatorial race opponents Monday as they convened for an event in Harlem to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The annual MLK Day commemoration at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network headquarters is typically a day of tributes and calls to action — but that couldn’t keep the sparks from flying as Hochul shared the stage with Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Williams, who has positioned himself as the most progressive candidate in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, didn’t call out Hochul by name. But his target appeared clear as Williams accused certain New York Democrats of “blocking” King’s “legacy” by letting the state’s eviction moratorium expire over the weekend.
“Dr. King’s birthday was on Saturday. On Saturday, we allowed the eviction moratorium to lapse without even putting some ‘Good Cause Eviction’ in place to protect someone and no money to protect small homeowners who are going to foreclose,” Williams said, referring to a tenants’ rights bill that Hochul has withheld support for.
“We did that in the middle of winter and a COVID surge,” Williams added. “That wasn’t the Republicans — I want to be clear about that.”
First implemented in March 2020 by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the eviction moratorium protected New York renters from being kicked out of their homes for inability to pay rent.
Hochul allowed the eviction freeze to expire over the weekend, reasoning it wasn’t economically feasible to keep it in place any longer.
Still, in her own remarks at the MLK Day event in Harlem, Hochul said she is focused on keeping New Yorkers in their homes as COVID-19 case and hospitalization rates remain high due to the omicron variant.
“l am not going to continue as governor without focusing on the issues that matter, like making sure people have housing over their heads,” she said.
Making his first public appearance since leaving City Hall on Jan. 1, de Blasio wasn’t as explicit as Williams in criticizing Hochul.
But the ex-mayor sided with Williams as he used Dr. King’s words to make a broad point about inequality.
“We must recognize that we can’t solve our problems until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power. That’s what Dr. King said. And, folks, I agree with Jumaane — a lot of folks who are celebrating him would never agree with that sentiment,” de Blasio said.
Unlike Williams, de Blasio has not officially announced he is running for governor.
However, he teased a run for months before leaving office and has formed a fundraising committee that could be used for gubernatorial purposes.
In yet another sign that he’s likely to launch a gubernatorial bid, de Blasio listed off some of his administration’s signature accomplishments, like implementing universal pre-K and “defeating stop-and-frisk.”
“We won that battle. They said it couldn’t be done, but we won it and all the other battles before — remember your victories, because there will be more,” he told the crowd in Harlem.
The gubernatorial primary is set for June.
According to early polling, Hochul has taken a commanding lead in the race, while de Blasio and Williams have typically claimed less than 10% of support in most surveys.
The only other declared Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Rep. Tom Suozzi, is polling in the single digits.
Suozzi did not attend Monday’s MLK Day event, even though he was listed as a speaker in a National Action Network press release.
Kim Devlin, a spokeswoman for Suozzi, said the no-show was a result of the National Action Network sending a speaking invitation to a staffer who no longer works for the congressman.
“He is out of town,” Devlin said of Suozzi, adding that he did meet with Sharpton a few weeks ago in Manhattan.
In addition to polling, Hochul is crushing her opponents in the fundraising arena, reporting more than $20 million in her campaign war chest this past November.
Williams suggested he believes there is a parallel between Hochul’s prolific fundraising and her decision to let the eviction moratorium lapse.
“There are so many things that we have the power to do,” Williams said, “but we just don’t do it, because the people we have to do it for can’t write as big a check as the people we’re going to do it for.”
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