Comptroller DiNapoli, right, & Governor Cuomo (photo: governor's office)

Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, the self-described “steady hand helping the state move along” throughout more than a decade of scandal and turmoil in New York politics, is expressing optimism about the change of leadership expected when Governor Andrew Cuomo resigns and Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul becomes the state’s 57th Governor.

Appearing recently on the Max Politics podcast hosted by Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max, DiNapoli discussed Cuomo’s decade-plus as governor,

Gov. Cuomo presenting a budget (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

Governor Andrew Cuomo will soon be in the rearview mirror for New Yorkers as a result of his announced resignation on August 10, 2021, effective 14 days later. A fresh start will be a welcome relief for all New Yorkers. That is because, as we face 2022, everyone who seeks a government that strives for justice must take heed that the office of the Governor of New York is the most powerful public office in the state, and then some.

In the decade-long budget battles

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Gov. Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)

Friday brought sad but unsurprising news in Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie’s decision to call off impeaching Governor Andrew Cuomo. For survivors, lawmakers, and advocates who doubted the Legislature would impose real accountability, this decision confirmed their worst fears. While Cuomo’s promised resignation is a monumental fall from power and an important safeguard against future abuse, it provides little justice for those he attacked in the past.

There are

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (photo: Office of the NYS Comptroller)

August 13, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Tom DiNapoli on the End of the Cuomo Era and What's Next

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli joined the show to discuss Governor Andrew Cuomo's resignation announcement and tenure, what he is hopeful about moving forward, his relationship with presumptive next governor Kathy Hochul, whether he may run for governor in 2022 himself, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know

Andrew Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

August 11, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Reflections on Taking on Andrew Cuomo

Rebecca Katz, founder of New Deal Strategies, a top advisor to Cynthia Nixon's 2018 gubernatorial campaign, and a former member of the de Blasio administration, joined the show to discuss Andrew Cuomo's reign and downfall.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (photo: Gabriel López Albarrán/Governor's Office)

August 11, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Getting to Know Future Governor Kathy Hochul

As Kathy Hochul is set to become New York's 57th Governor, and first woman to hold the position, reporters Anna Gronewold of Politico and Bob McCarthy of The Buffalo News joined the show to discuss her background, ascent, first press conference as presumptive next Governor, and what's next.

Listen to the

Governor Andrew Cuomo (Don Pollard/Governor's Office)

Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced that he is resigning from office, just one week after a bombshell state attorney general report found that he had sexually harassed 11 women, nine of whom were current or former state employees.

Cuomo, in a live virtual address from his Manhattan office, said his resignation will take effect in 14 days, at which time

Photo: Kevin Coughlin/Governor's Office

Governor Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple current and former state employees, and his executive office retaliated against one woman who publicly accused him of harassment, according to the findings of an investigation released on Tuesday by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.

James released a lengthy report concluding a five-month investigation by independent attorneys

Governor Andrew Cuomo (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)

July 31, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Governor Cuomo Faces Series of Scandals and Investigations

Luis Ferré Sadurní, a reporter with the New York Times in the Metro section, and Marina Villeneuve, a reporter with the Associated Press, both of whom cover Governor Andrew Cuomo, joined the show to break down the numerous investigations and scandals the third-term Democrat is facing and what comes next, including the highly-anticipated report from New York State

Major housing questions linger in New York (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)

July 27, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: New York's Covid Emergency Rental Assistance Program

Emma Whitford, a reporter for Law360 who covers real estate and more, joined the show to discuss New York's pandemic housing crisis, eviction moratorium, and state emergency rental assistance program, which has seen major initial problems in its rollout.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

What's The [Data] Point? Episode 108 -- $209 Billion, Examining The New York State Budget [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

$209 billion is the total amount to be spent this state fiscal year according to New York State's Enacted Budget for Fiscal Year 2022. That massive budget, adopted in early April, was bolstered by immense federal aid and higher than expected tax revenues as New York comes out of the devastation of the covid

Gov. Cuomo with workers (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

*This story was published in partnership with New York Focus.*

Since 2014, Jin Gou Ke, an immigrant from China's Fujian Province, has worked as a delivery worker for Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Paid a pre-tip salary of just $3 per order, far short of the city’s minimum direct cash wage of

A state psychiatric hospital (photo: Office of Mental Health)

As New York State hospitals began to fear the worst last spring -- that the pace of the coronavirus would overtake their ability to discharge patients and clear beds -- they had to decide what to do with people being admitted for acute psychiatric care.

In the second week of March 2020, only 325 New Yorkers had tested positive for COVID-19 but images from abroad and the pace of infection outlined a worrying forecast. By the end of the week, New York would confirm its first casualty from a virus

Gov. Cuomo (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

It can be painful to look back, but perhaps never more than as we approach the one-year anniversary of the pandemic. COVID-19 started long before March 13 2020, but that was the day everything changed in New York City. That was the day leaders declared a state of emergency and began the most dramatic shutdown in the city’s history. And that was also the same day I decried what I called “Cuomo’s

Gov. Cuomo (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)

March 10, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Breaking Down Cuomo's Nursing Home Scandal

Bill Hammond, senior fellow for health policy at The Empire Center, joined the show to break down Governor Cuomo's nursing home scandal and how it ties into the governor's larger COVID-19 response.

Lis

Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have spent many months warning New Yorkers about cratering tax revenues because of the coronavirus pandemic, outlining yawning budget gaps that could force them to make drastic spending cuts to state and city services and lay off thousands of government workers. But while the fiscal future remains uncertain, their worst predictions did not come to pass — revenues were higher than expected and significant federal aid has flowed to New

Gov. Cuomo at an MTA announcement (photo: governor's office)

This budget year for New York State is like no other due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but one thing remains business as usual in Albany: The Governor is once again filling state budget holes with funds that are supposed to be dedicated to supporting mass transit and fighting climate change—hitting disadvantaged communities especially hard.

Governor Cuomo intends to take $240 million in dedicated taxes from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), and $23 million from the Regional

Gov. Cuomo, Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins & Speaker Heastie (photo: June 2020/Governor's Office)

Shortly after Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday gave a defiant press briefing in which he reiterated he has no plans to resign from his position, two major shoes dropped in the scandals engulfing the third-term Democratic governor: State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called on Cuomo to resign and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said he supports Stewart-Cousins' questions about Cuomo's ability to govern and that the governor

Mayor de Blasio and Police Commissioner Shea (photo: Ed Reed/Mayor's Office)

Update, March 5, 2021: Shortly after the publication of this story and after having declined to comment for the story over multiple days, the de Blasio administration on Friday released the first of a three-part draft plan with 36 proposals. "The plan will now move through a public comment period where it will undergo further revision based on the feedback of the public and through a process with

State Senator Jessica Ramos (photo: NY Senate)

March 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Senator Jessica Ramos Call s for Governor Cuomo's Resignation

State Senator Jessica Ramos of Queens joined the show to discuss her call for Governor Cuomo's resignation over a series of sexual harassment allegations, how the Legislature is

Jay Jacobs (photo: Andrew Cuomo campaign via flickr)

March 3, 2021 - Max & Murphy Podcast: New York Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs on What's Next for Governor Cuomo

Jay Jacobs, the chair of the New York State Democratic Party, joined the show to discuss the sexual harassment scandal engulfing Governor Andrew Cuomo and

Gov. Cuomo (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)

Governor Cuomo has worked hard to cultivate a national reputation as the Emmy Award-winning hero of his own covid reality show – so why is he stripping federal resources from hospitals, clinics, and health centers on the front lines of the crisis? 

Last year, the Cuomo Administration included a provision in the state budget that would cost safety net providers an estimated $154 million in federal resources the first year and $1.5 billion over five years. This Albany accounting

Mayor de Blasio & Governor Cuomo (photo: Rob Bennett/Mayor's Office)

With so much on the line, Mayor Bill de Blasio is pushing leaders in Washington, D.C. to allocate direct aid to New York City in the next big federal stimulus package, currently being negotiated among President Joe Biden and members of Congress. At the same time, de Blasio is calling on the State Legislature to help him stop Governor Andrew Cuomo from continuing to syphon off hundreds of millions of dollars in federal aid coming through Albany.

Both de Blasio and Cuomo have said

Mayor de Blasio testifying remotely (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

Mayor Bill de Blasio pleaded to state legislators on Thursday to protect New York City from hundreds of millions of dollars in cuts and cost shifts in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Executive Budget for the next fiscal year, warning that the damage could be worse if federal stimulus aid is not delivered on time.  

In his annual, and final, appearance before the state Legislature to testify about the governor’s budget plan and the

Joe Biden and Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)

President Biden’s stimulus package is proceeding down the legislative path in Congress. This is great news for New York residents and for New York governments’ beleaguered budgets. The $1.9 trillion plan includes $350 billion for State and Local Governments, Tribes, and Territories.

The monies will likely be apportioned in a manner similar to the earlier stimulus package,