Griffo Responds To AG’s Nursing Home Report

Senator Joseph Griffo says the Attorney General’s findings show the deadly and devastating effects that many of the state’s misguided policies have had during the coronavirus pandemic.

Griffo says the report is a stain on the administration’s leadership and credibility and raises significant questions about the State Department of Health’s ability to effectively guide New York during the crisis.

He says those responsible for the activities highlighted by the Attorney General must be held accountable.

The Senator says while he agrees that Health Commissioner Howard Zucker’s ability to run his department has been called into question and that he should step down, we cannot ignore the fact he works for and reports to the Governor.

While the Attorney General’s report is a good start, we must continue to work to understand the real impacts of the state’s policies, despite the administration withholding vital information from the Legislature and stonewalling our efforts to uncover the truth. Nursing home residents, and their families, deserve better, deserve transparency and deserve answers to what has transpired in facilities across the state and the state’s role in this tragedy," said Griffo.

Attorney General Letitia James is charging Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration of under-counting COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50-percent.