25 September 2021: Hochul Begins Purge of Cuomo Appointees

Hochul launching purge of Cuomo cronies from Albany: sources

Replacement NY Governor Kathy Hochul has begun purging officials appointed to state government positions by Andrew M. Cuomo. This report indicates "at least nine bureaucrats" who have either resigned or will be removed from power "within the next few days":

At the top of the list of departures is Michael Hein, the former Ulster County Executive who was tapped by Cuomo in 2019 to oversee the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hein was put in charge of the regional control room for the Hudson Valley, monitoring key health metrics as the state tentatively reopened in the summer of 2020.

In recent months, Hein was supposed to oversee the distribution of $2.6 billion in federal funding to help tenants pay back rent and utility bills. He was criticized for failing to hand out the money fast enough.

On Aug. 10, the day Cuomo announced his resignation, Hein admitted to lawmakers at an Assembly hearing that he had never spoken to the then-governor about the program, which was created by Congress at the beginning of this year.

Other officials headed for the door, according to sources, include: Dr. Theodore Kastner, commissioner of the state Office for People With Developmental Disabilities; Arlene González-Sánchez, head of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services; Kenneth Theobalds, chair of the New York State Insurance Fund; Human Rights Division Commissioner Licha Nyiendo; Deputy Secretary for General Government and Technology Molly Reilly; Deputy Secretary for Civil Rights and Workforce Debra Alligood White; Director of Cannabis Program Norman Birenbaum and Deputy Secretary for Public Safety Jeremy Shockett.

The report also summarizes Howard Zucker's announcement of his pending resignation as New York Health Commissioner, recounting his role in the Cuomo nursing home deaths scandals.