Cuomo’s penchant for wielding power would be limited in the mayor’s office

Not only is a mayor largely captive to leaders in Albany — think “Tin Cup Day,” when municipal executives beg state lawmakers for cash each February — the city job is met with balance-of-power checks everywhere a mayor turns. “I have lost a bet with a lot of people since last year,” said state Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a dedicated Cuomo foe who wagered the former governor wouldn’t run. In April 2020, when the mayor decreed city schools would remain closed for the rest of the academic year, Cuomo brushed it off as merely the “the mayor’s position.” The governor didn’t declare that schools were closed for another three weeks. A key step to securing state funding is the mayor’s appearance every year for “Tin Cup Day” in Albany, where they endure hours of questions from rank-and-file legislators about their budget priorities — something Cuomo was unwilling to do when his office was one floor below the legislative chambers. “There would be a lot of legislators who would welcome the opportunity to question him in a public setting.” Cuomo’s first list of mayoral policy proposals underscores this power differential.