In response to the New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s bombshell report on the deaths of thousands of New Yorkers from COVID-19 in state-regulated nursing homes, Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and Senator Jim Tedisco today are again joining across party lines to call for state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker and Governor Cuomo to release the real number of nursing home deaths.

Tedisco and Santabarbara, who have been leading voices over the past seven months calling for transparency from the Cuomo Administration on the nursing home deaths, are also demanding that the Governor stop delaying and end the cover-up now by releasing all the data on the real number of nursing home deaths that lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, government watchdog groups, the media and public have been seeking.

“The Attorney General’s report on the state’s COVID-19 response in nursing homes is both frustrating and heartbreaking,” said Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara. “A lack of personal protective equipment for staff and a lack of government guidance put COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes and unnecessarily jeopardized the health of thousands of our loved ones living in nursing homes.[1]”

“My heart goes out to all the grieving family members of nursing home residents that have passed away due to the pandemic. I am equally outraged by the policies that allowed any of this to happen, I, along with several of my colleagues, have repeatedly called for an independent investigation into New York’s nursing home deaths to determine how this crisis was mishandled, as well as to further study the impact that state and facility policies had on this outcome,”[2] Santabarbara said. “It’s more evident now than ever that this investigation was necessary. This data will be critical in identifying ways we can improve our crisis response and eliminate the policies that contributed to these tragic and preventable deaths.”

“Once again, I’d like to send my deepest sympathies to all those who are mourning the loss of a loved one. This report proves a total lack in transparency and accountability, and I’ll continue fighting to ensure that a tragedy like this is never repeated,” Santabarbara added.

“I commend Attorney General James for this investigation and startling report which has lifted the veil of secrecy on the number of nursing home patients who lost their lives. This confirms what we’ve been saying for months that thousands more New Yorkers died from the coronavirus than what the Cuomo Administration and the Health Department have claimed. It’s clear that the Health Commissioner does not have the level of public trust and competence needed for him to stay in his position as under his watch thousands of New Yorkers died needlessly. He must resign immediately,” said Senator Jim Tedisco.

“The Governor must stop the coronavirus cover-up and now release all the data on the nursing home deaths that myself and my colleagues from both sides of the aisle have requested. We need to get all the facts so we can provide a measure of closure for the families who lost their loved ones and help prevent this from happening again,” said Senator Tedisco.

[1] ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-releases-report-nursing-homes-response-covid-19

[2] blog.timesunion.com/santabarbara/santabarbara-independent-investigation-into-new-york-nursing-home-deaths-needed/3101/