Monday’s Headlines: Living the DREAM Edition

So, you might have heard that our disgraced former governor, Andrew Cuomo, is officially in the race for mayor. And you have probably heard some of your friends — the ones who never think about politics — telling you that they’re thinking of voting for him.

As journalists, of course, our occupational hazard is that we’re incapable of forgetting things. So we don’t forget — and certainly won’t risk our non-profit status to remind you of the coverage of — why Cuomo resigned in disgrace.

For one thing, he’s a serial and unapologetic harasser of women. Beyond that, he played fast and loose with the facts during the pandemic. He’s ethically suspect. He caused the MTA’s “Summer of Hell.” He raided money earmarked for subway service. His sister helped kill a bike lane! He doesn’t understand basic rules. He undermined the Democratic majority in Albany to increase his own power. He wasted our time with a wrong-way AirTrain plan. And he dawdled with congestion pricing.

And he barely lives here!

So you tell your friends that, but they retort, well, we need someone to beat Mayor Adams! And you have to sigh because, of course, Mayor Adams has been disastrous on so many of the issues we hold dear — amirite, bus riders?

Livable streets advocates can’t possibly support either of these guys, so someone should tell your friends about a movement called DREAM: Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor. It’s a website put together by a group called New Yorkers for a Better New York Today, but it’s also a reminder: any candidate you rank in our upcoming ranked-choice primary in June could end up getting your vote … and becoming mayor.

So don’t rank a candidate that you don’t want to become mayor. It’s that simple.

Everyone covered Cuomo’s announcement:

• Streetsblog’s coverage was seminal, of course.
• The Daily News’s coverage was the weakest. A single news story and an opinion piece by the son of a Covid victim.
• The Post did its straight-up news story, but then went full Post: Coverage of Cuomo’s first appearance, where he talked about his “success” during Covid; not just one piece, but two centering on Covid victims who hate Cuomo; an exclusive interview with one of Cuomo’s alleged sexual harassment victims; plus an editorial whose headline says it all: “Behold! Biggest Liar in New York wants to be mayor.”
• The editorial in Crain’s went with a similar angle.
• The Times acquitted itself well, with a main story, a timeline, and a reminder about his sex pest past.
• amNY offered the first-day and second-day story, but nothing with any depth.
• Gothamist had the first-day story and then covered the “Women Against Cuomo” rally.
• We liked The City’s headline.

Candidates Brad Lander, Zoran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie and others made or put out videos decrying the Cuomo candidacy.

In other news:

• Gothamist covered the FDNY’s announcement that it had hit a hydrant-parker with a $4,000 criminal fine. We had skipped the story on Friday because the agency wouldn’t give up the name of the suspect, which is standard in criminal cases. The Post version of the story was better (but also did not identify the perp.)
• Looks like the Post woke up and found another way in which Gov. Hochul is a political coward.
• This story about a woman run down on Flatbush Avenue raises more questions than it answered. (NYDN)
• Activists targeted Tesla dealerships — alas not because cars suck, but because this particular car model’s owner does. (NYDN)
• The Post has always been obsessed with animal stories — and doubly so when it’s a disgusting animal in the subway story.
• The Post is also obsessed with crime in the subway. Meet the worst perps.