by Bernadette Hogan
Top Democrats in the state Legislature are taking steps to strip Gov. Andrew Cuomo of his pandemic emergency powers — possibly as early as Friday — as the administration is embroiled in dueling scandals over the handling of nursing home deaths and allegations of sexual harassment against the governor.
The agreement on a bill stripping Cuomo of the powers was forged between state Sen. Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-The Bronx). Once passed by both houses of the Legislature it would immediately repeal the powers granted to Cuomo last March to largely control state response to the coronavirus, presently set to sunset on April 30.
That vote could come as soon as Friday.
The legislation would also bar Cuomo from creating new emergency directives without a sign off from legislative leaders and relevant committee chairs and would only allow the extension of existing directives if they are directly tied to managing the pandemic.
The deal would allow some of the existing directives to continue, such as the statewide mask order…
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