Kathy Hochul, 1st female governor of NY, says she will mandate masks in schools

Kathy Hochul became the first female governor of New York on Tuesday and in her first hours on the job sought to bring a new sense of urgency to tackling immense problems that went unaddressed during Andrew Cuomo's distracted final months in office.

In an afternoon address, she said she was immediately making masks mandatory for anyone entering schools and would work to implement a requirement that all school staff either be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing. She said the state would launch a back-to-school testing program to make testing for students and staff more convenient.

"None of us want a rerun of last year's horrors with COVID-19," Hochul said. "Therefore we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening."

Hochul also pledged quick action to unstick an application bottleneck that has kept federal aid money from flowing to renters who suffered financially because of the pandemic.

She promised to get the state ready to distribute vaccine booster shots, when they become widely available, including reopening mass inoculation sites that had previously closed. And she also said New Yorkers "can expect new vaccine requirements," though she didn't specify what those might be.

"More on that soon," she said.

WATCH | Hochul vows to make changes in New York:

Hochul vows to challenge status quo

3 years ago

Duration 1:30

Sworn in as New York's first female governor, Kathy Hochul promised a new approach to the state's politics, emphasizing an increased importance on supporting women and stemming discrimination.

'No blindsiding'

Hochul, a Democrat and former member of Congress from western New York, took the oath of office just after midnight in a brief, private event overseen by the state's chief judge, Janet DiFiore.

At a ceremonial swearing-in later Tuesday morning at the State Capitol, Hochul promised a "fresh, collaborative approach" in state government. She said she had already begun speaking with other Democratic leaders who have, for years, complained about being shut out of key decisions and of being bullied by Cuomo, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"There'll be no blindsiding; there'll just be full co-operation," Hochul said.

Over the next few months, Hochul, who was little known as lieutenant governor, will have an opportunity to reshape Albany, where Cuomo dominated decision-making for years before being felled in a sexual harassment scandal.

For generations, it's been said that all of the real decisions in the state government were made by "three men in a room" the governor and the leaders of the state Senate and Assembly.

Now, for the first time, two of those three Hochul and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins are women. Only the state Assembly is led by a man, Speaker Carl Heastie.

Hochul promised more transparency and ethical conduct in government going forward.

She ordered an overhaul of state government policies on sexual harassment and ethics, including requiring that all training be done live, "instead of allowing people to click their way through a class."

And she said she would order ethics training for every state government employee, "which, shockingly," she said, "is not required across the board."

Cuomo left office at midnight, two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face an impeachment battle that appeared inevitable after a report by independent investigators overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James concluded he had sexually harassed 11 women.

On his final day in office, Cuomo released a recorded farewell address in which he again said he was innocent and portrayed himself as the victim of a "media frenzy."

WATCH | Mixed reactions to Cuomo's exit:

New Yorkers react to Andrew Cuomo's resignation

3 years ago

Duration 1:01

In the wake of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's resignation, the reaction among those in New York City's Times Square was varied.

Hochul takes over a state still dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, and struggling to get aid out the door.

Little of the $2 billion set aside by the federal government to help New Yorkers pay off rent debt has been distributed. Thousands face the possibility of eviction after state and federal protections expire.

Hochul also pledged quick action to distribute money from a new $2 billion state fund intended to benefit unauthorized immigrants who didn't qualify for other types of federal pandemic relief aid.

"The money's there," Hochul said. "These people are not eligible for other forms of assistance, and they're hurting and they're part of the New York family."

Cuomo left office at 12a.m., two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle. He submitted his resignation letter late Monday to the leaders of the state Assembly and Senate.

In the meantime, she'll be building an administration a task that began in the first minutes of Tuesday with the oath of office, hours ahead of the restaging of the event for television cameras in mid-morning.

DiFiore administered the oath in the Capitol in front of a stone fireplace, atop which were placed family pictures.

In a restaging of the swearing-in ceremony at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday, Hochul thanked her "big Irish Catholic" family.

Her immediate family sat in the front row, wearing masks and spaced slightly apart. Hochul, her daughter and daughter-in law wore white to honour suffragists.