Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will wield much less power than he's used to if he wins the race for New York City mayor, as Albany is able to overrule decisions from Gracie Mansion on nearly anything.
In addition, the job in the city meets with balance-of-power checks constantly and even requires participating in the notorious "Tin Cup Day" in February, when municipal officials seek cash from state lawmakers, Politico reported Thursday.
Cuomo would also find that a mayor has less control over budgets, faces more institutional checks on power, faces a larger, more aggressive press corps, and that the city's legislative body can more easily override a veto.
New York City's government also has about 330,000 employees, which proves harder for a politician to control.
He would also learn that he won't be able to use his power to push back against political foes, like he often did with former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Instead, he would be on the other side, squaring off against powerful state lawmakers and Gov. Kathy Hochul.
"I have lost a bet with a lot of people since last year," Sen. Gustavo Rivera, a dedicated foe of Cuomo's who insisted the former governor would not run for mayor. "The reason is that I could not imagine any single opportunity where he would ask Kathy Hochul for anything."
Cuomo's team is saying that the transition would line up with his strengths.
"This is the same guy who built the Second Avenue subway, the Moynihan Train Hall and the new LaGuardia and JFK Airports," Cuomo campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told Politico. "He's a manager, and the bottom line is that the city is in crisis and needs to be managed."
Rivera said that Cuomo "knows better than anybody" how the state wields power over the mayor of New York City and "how that can be abused by a governor."
Cuomo, who is leading the polls in the primary, set for June 24, was a constant foe of de Blasio, cutting him from major decisions, including once giving the mayor's team only 15 minutes notice before telling the public he decided to shut down the city's subways before a blizzard in 2015.
In the 2018 budget, Cuomo mandated the city come up with $418 million to contribute to the subways, required state approval for a plan to address homelessness, and used eminent domain to develop the area around Penn Station.
In April 2020, during the pandemic, Cuomo overrode the mayor's plan to keep schools closed for the remainder of the school year.
Cuomo, though, could also use several powers as mayor, including a bully pulpit and control over city agencies and contracting. He could also appoint a majority favoring him to city boards, which have remained largely independent.
"The idea that these norms of civilized, above-board behavior are going to keep the COIB, the CFB and DOI safe — it's hard to see that," said John Kaehny, head of the government ethics group Reinvent Albany.