By Dan Murphy
On Oct. 1, former Governor Andrew Cuomo attended a relief effort for victims of Hurricane Ian in the Bronx with Hispanic Clergy groups and community memebers. Cuomo, who has reemerged to comment on the state of affairs in our state and nation, recently wrote an Op-Ed in The Daily News, and made comments in the Bronx, about the lack of support, and failures of the US Federal Government in aiding Puerto Rico and its people.
“The damage that happened in Puerto Rico in this storm did not have to happen. We did not make the changes the needed to be made after Maria (2017). We did not fix the power grid. We did not fix the power system. We had $40 Billion allocated to fix Puerto Rico, only 2% of that $40 Billion has been spent as of today,” said Cuomo in the Bronx.
“So I say to the Federal Government. You have not made Puerto Rico the priority that it should be. The people of Puerto Rico are citizens of this country and they deserve better treatment and more attention from this federal government.
“The federal government is strangling Puerto Rico with bureaucracy….We have to give them strength and hope. There will be another storm, but let’s make the changes we need to make sure the United States remembers and honors its people of Puerto Rico,” said Cuomo, who also helped load a tractor trailer with supplies headed to Puerto Rico.
In a Sept 20 Op-Ed in the Daily News, Cuomo wrote, “New York’s advocacy was helpful in securing a federal aid package of approximately $42.5 billion. A key element of the plan was to transform Puerto Rico’s electric power grid with state-of-the-art modern grid technologies. The power system in Puerto Rico has long been outdated and in need of replacement.
“That was five years ago. One may ask, what has happened since in terms of actual progress? The answer: very little.
“The rebuilding plan sits on the shelf, the money is tied up in the federal bureaucracy and on the ground in Puerto Rico, the situation is basically the status quo. Under Trump, no significant aid went out the door. Biden reversed that policy, but practically speaking, very little of this aid has reached the island.
Puerto Rico should be a showcase for the federal government to demonstrate that it is still capable of making a difference,” wrote Cuomo, who has started his political comeback by embracing one of the largest blocks of democratic voters in New York State.
