More than 50 protesters, including members of the Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, gathered outside of the Bronx office of New York State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, who reportedly has contracted COVID-19, on Friday evening.

 

They vowed to continue to camp outside on the sidewalk for the entire night, to highlight various issues of public interest.

The protesters gathered at just before 6 p.m., outside the office, located at 1446 East Gun Hill Road, located in a section of the Bronx close to The Valley, but just within the border of Pelham Gardens.

 

The demonstrators called on Heastie to support several key points of action. Firstly, the group called for the resignation of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been accused of alleged, inappropriate behavior by multiple women, for which an internal investigation has been launched by New York State Attorney General Laetitia James.

 

The governor denies the allegations, and has asked the public to wait for the final outcome of the investigation, with which he has said he is cooperating.

A further F.B.I. investigation is also underway into the governor’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis as it relates to New York State nursing homes, as reported by The New York Times, and whether or not the governor and his senior aides gave false information about nursing home death numbers to the U.S. Justice Department.

 

The crowd, made up of multiple, community-based organizations from across the city, also called for an additional tax on the rich, as well forgiveness of rent incurred by tenants during the past year amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

As reported previously by the Norwood News, other protests have also been organized, both in the Bronx and citywide, on the topic of rent relief and eviction moratoriums, with different elected officials diverging on their views on how best the rental crisis should be addressed amid the pandemic.

 

The assembly speaker tweeted on Saturday that he is still in recovery from COVID-19, but did not address the protests.

One of the amazing people I worked with made me some chicken stew to help me recover. Thank you Anita. pic.twitter.com/AlKmqJOTQ3

— Carl E. Heastie (@CarlHeastie) March 27, 2021

 

Meanwhile, Heastie has also been criticized by some for seemingly protecting the governor against growing calls for his impeachment.

Tomorrow marks 1 YEAR since Governor Cuomo signed his fatal order to admit COVID-19 patients in nursing homes

New York has lost 15,000+ precious, innocent lives since 💔

Tomorrow, join me in sharing stories of victims & messages of support for families using #WeCareWeRemember pic.twitter.com/2NbpW7tgFm

— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) March 24, 2021

.@NYGovCuomo is NYS’s top boss. Speaker @CarlHeastie’s refusal to impeach sends a clear message to women across ALL industries, from government to hospitality, that this behavior is excusable and they will not be protected or valued in the workplace. #CuomoMustGo

— Ben Sussman (@bensussman) March 27, 2021

The governor also has his supporters who do not believe he should resign or be impeached, as the following tweets indicate.

Good luck to all those rallying for Governor Cuomo in NYC today. Stay NY Strong and NY Loving. I SUPPORT GOVERNOR CUOMO!

— Elaine Miccio-McClean (@ElaineMiccio) March 20, 2021

This 'we support Cuomo' plane has been circling my neighborhood and I gotta say my already low support for Cuomo goes down every minute I have to listen to it on the first day it's been warm enough to sit outside pic.twitter.com/4hFEo8lsfK

— Maeve Kane (@MaeveKane) March 23, 2021

Police said the crowd had dispersed by the time they arrived at the location at midnight.

 

*Síle Moloney contributed to this story.