NY billboard calls for Cuomo’s impeachment amid controversies

A new highway billboard in Albany is calling for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) impeachment amid a series of controversies surrounding the elected official. 

Local gun store owner Brian Olesen told the New York Post that he paid for the electronic billboard that now lines Interstate 787 just north of the state capital “to demand that he [Cuomo] be held accountable for the mass deaths at the nursing homes.” 

Cuomo’s office earlier this month admitted to withholding coronavirus data at nursing homes in the state, prompting bipartisan backlash and calls from some for the governor to resign or face legal punishment. 

The billboard, which first went up Tuesday, shows an image of Cuomo, along with the word, “IMPEACH!” in bold, red letters. 

“Our original message was ‘He lied, they died,’ but the billboard company rejected it,” Olesen told the Post.  

787 billboard calls for Gov. Cuomo’s impeachment https://t.co/zLDJAO6lFw

— WNYT NewsChannel 13 (@WNYT) February 25, 2021

The unveiling of the billboard came before a former aide to Cuomo, Lindsey Boylan accused the governor of kissing her without her consent and making inappropriate remarks while she worked in his office.

“Combined with these sexual allegations, I think people in this state have had it,” Olesen said. “And people are going to take the initiative now to seek this guy’s removal.”

A second former aide came forward later Saturday with additional sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo. 

Charlotte Bennett, 25, told The New York Times in an interview that the governor late last spring asked her personal questions about her sex life, allegedly telling Bennett that he previously had relationships with women in their 20s. 

Cuomo’s office has denied Boylan’s allegations.

Cuomo said in a public statement Saturday that he had intended to serve as a mentor to Bennett, adding that he “never made advances” toward her, “nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” 

New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D) have both called for independent investigations into the sexual harassment allegations.

Others, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), have urged Cuomo to resign.