Cuomo Claimed These NYCHA Tenant Leaders Endorsed Him. They Say They Never Did.
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Jeannette Salcedo is still mulling over who to endorse in the mayor's race.
So Salcedo, the resident association president at NYCHA's Castle Hill Houses in The Bronx, was taken aback when someone asked her about an Instagram post from former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's account with her name on it, indicating she'd endorsed him for mayor.
'How did that happen?' Salcedo asked. 'I did not endorse him. I did not. I don't know who I'm endorsing. My questions, as far as I'm concerned, haven't been answered.'
Still, Salcedo's name appeared with 26 other NYCHA tenant association presidents on a list the campaign released in May that indicated they all endorsed him for mayor.
But that is not the case. Five tenant association presidents who appeared on the list told THE CITY they did not endorse the former governor, saying they still need to decide amongst candidates.
Two others didn't reveal whether or not Cuomo won their backing, but said they never approved their names appearing on the list.
Six presidents confirmed their endorsements of Cuomo, but of those, one said she didn't know the list would be public.
In a statement, Cuomo campaign spokesperson Esther Jensen pointed out that the list had been public for over a month and cast doubt on the claims.
'Something smells here,' she said. 'When THE CITY reached out, we reconnected with NYCHA Tenant Leaders and learned that some had privately expressed feeling intimidated by supporters of other candidates, while others simply didn't welcome the attention that came from press inquiries.'
Over half a million New Yorkers live in NYCHA developments throughout the boroughs, and securing the endorsements of the tenant leaders can serve as a boon for any mayoral campaign. And it's especially significant for Cuomo, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development under President Bill Clinton and says that experience makes him the most qualified candidate on housing.
The Cuomo campaign has been afflicted by missteps, including a housing plan with garbled sections written with the help of artificial intelligence. It was twice docked matching funds as a penalty for ads bought by an independent committee that a city board said illegally coordinated with the campaign. Cuomo is appealing the decisions.
Salcedo said Cuomo's campaign had reached out to her, and she told them she didn't know enough to say she'd endorse him. Instead she told the campaign representative, whose name she didn't remember, to put her on the list to learn more.
Salcedo made a social media post of her own clarifying her stance and said she has now soured on considering Cuomo for mayor, given what happened.
'When you speak to someone in a leadership role, it's important to get their words correct. You don't just take their words and run with it,' she said. 'At this point now, that threw me to the left. I don't want any parts of you.'
NYCHA leaders like Salcedo said they are eager to know what the mayoral candidates plan to improve the aging and cash-strapped public housing stock, which faces devastating possible budget cuts from the federal government. Cuomo, the race's frontrunner, proposed upgrading NYCHA through a five-year investment of $2.5 billion, converting more sites to private management and developing new apartments on open space on campuses, among other ideas.
Two tenant association presidents told THE CITY they found out their names appeared on the list only after someone from City Hall reached out and asked about it. A City Hall spokesperson clarified that in both cases, a community affairs staffer who had longstanding relationships with the tenant association presidents communicated informally in the context of regular business.
One of those presidents, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect her residents from any blowback, said she had a call with the Cuomo campaign but never confirmed her support. She called the whole situation 'dirty politics' and said the campaign 'blew the trust.'
'I haven't really made up my mind, and I don't know who I'm voting for yet because it's not even early voting,' she said, adding that she'd have to 'face the music' the next time she saw Mayor Eric Adams. Adams has announced he will be running for reelection as an independent in November.
Lehra Brooks, Throggs Neck Houses Tenant Association president, confirmed her support for Cuomo, but said she was blindsided when she saw her name and title publicly on the list. She said she found out when she got a call from Adams' office, which sent her a copy.
'I didn't know they were putting us out as tenant association presidents. I was speaking for me, personally,' Brooks said. 'I think that this is some funky politics.'
Still, she backs Cuomo, pointing to his leadership during the pandemic.
'He did an excellent job, and I said yes, I would support. When I look at the state of how we are right now, he'd be good,' she said.
Rashida Reid, president of the South Beach Houses Resident Association in Staten Island, learned her name was on the list when THE CITY contacted her about it. She said she spoke to someone from the Cuomo campaign and didn't tell them whether or not she'd support him.
'I have not made up my mind,' Reid said. 'I need to see what [the candidates] stand for.'
Kimberly Comes, president of the Redfern Houses Resident Council in Far Rockaway, was one of the people who accurately appeared on the list in support of Cuomo.
'He came to visit our community, and he spoke with some of the residents,' she said. 'I haven't given any cash or anything like that, but we feel he would be a great mayor.'
― ―
Samantha Maldonado is a senior reporter for THE CITY, where she covers climate, resiliency, housing and development.
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