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As portions of the United States begin to reopen non-essential businesses and attractions, New York, the global epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, will remain closed to all but some manufacturing and construction endeavors in rural areas of the state. When and how the state will finally reopen, says Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo, will be decided largely based on hitting certain numerical goals. All of his decisions, he often repeats, are “science-based, all data-based.”
But the governor is also relying on the advice of 116 business leaders and advocates, which he has assembled into the New York Forward Re-opening Advisory Board.
Cuomo has not been shy about leaning on business and tech leaders to aid in his response to the virus. Billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will fund a $10 million coronavirus tracking program. This week Cuomo announced partnerships with Bill Gates and Google CEO Eric Schmidt to “reimagine” the economy by “revolutionizing” online education, telehealth, and broadband access. Schmidt will lead a 15-person committee to do just that.
The advisory board is made up mostly of those from the business sector, including 40 CEOs: Albert Bourla of Pfizer, Ajay Banga of MasterCard, Danny Meyer of Union Square Hospitality Group, and John McAvoy of Con Edison, to name just a few. Former Secretaries to the Governor Steve Cohen and Bill Mulrow (now the general counsel of MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated and a senior advisor at Blackstone, respectively) are set to lead the group.
The board also includes labor leaders including the presidents of top unions, the heads of Cornell University, New York University, the SUNY and CUNY systems, and the leaders of charitable organizations like The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and United Way.
But critics still say that Cuomo’s reliance on business leaders takes on plutocratic characteristics and that he is giving millionaires and billionaires substantial free reign in shaping the future of New York State. While small businesses have been hit hardest during this pandemic, with an estimated 7.5 million at risk of permanently shutting their doors, only one independent restaurant owner, Tren’ness Woods-Black of Sylvia’s Restaurant in Harlem appears on the list.
“Cuomo is trying to take out the troubling democracy play-acting and go straight to rule by billionaires. Monday Gates. Tuesday Schmidt,” wrote Zephyr Teachout, a progressive Fordham University law professor who ran against Cuomo for governor in 2014. “Next up, Bezos to re-imagine the future of the economy, and Zuckerberg to re-imagine news. Friday maybe Blackrock just runs everything.”
New York State United Teachers President Andy Pallotta also released a statement noting his concerns. “Let’s recognize educators as the experts they are by including them in these discussions about improving our public education system for every student,” he wrote.
Jasmine Gripper, executive director of the public education advocacy organization Alliance for Quality Education expressed fears that partnering with billionaires could lead to more privatization.
“Governor Cuomo’s collaboration with the Gates Foundation for online education could be a threat to public schools as we know them,” she wrote in a statement. “Both the Gates Foundation and Andrew Cuomo have a history of pushing privatization and agendas that have the potential to destroy public schools. This collaboration raises a red flag and real questions about what shape our “reimagined” public schools will take post-pandemic, and whether they will be recognizable as public schools at all.”
While the governor’s office has touted the members of the advisory board, his office has been quiet about the role these members will play in shaping the future of the state. The Governor’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The board, said Cuomo in a release, will “help guide this process and ensure businesses are following the necessary guidelines to preserve public health as we work towards a new normal.” The group is expected to deliver recommendations and guidelines by May 15, when the first round of reopening in New York state begins.
Here’s who makes up the advisory board
Enterprise
- Ajay Banga, CEO, MasterCard
- Kathy Behrens, president, Social Responsibility & Player Programs, National Basketball Association
- Albert Bourla, CEO, Pfizer
- Tory Burch, executive chair, Tory Burch LLC
- Henry Cisneros, Siebert, Brandford, Shank & Co.
- Steven M. Cohen, former secretary to the Governor
- Stacey Cunningham, president, NYSE
- Sonya Del Peral, Nine Pin Ciderworks
- Mylan Denerstein, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
- James Dolan, CEO, Madison Square Garden
- Stacey Duncan, executive director, The Agency
- Leecia Eve, vice president of state government affairs, Verizon
- Bill Ford, CEO, General Atlantic LLC
- Jane Fraser, president, Citigroup
- Adena Friedman, president and CEO, NASDAQ
- Jonathan Gray, president and COO, Blackstone Group
- Horacio Gutierrez, general counsel, Spotify
- Sabrina HoSang Jordan, CEO, Caribbean Food Delights, Inc.
- Jeremy Jacobs Jr, co-CEO, Delaware North
- René Jones, chair and CEO, M&T Bank
- Michel Khalaf, president and CEO, MetLife
- Jon Ledecky, co-owner, New York Islanders
- Kewsong Lee , co-CEO, Carlyle Group
- Randy Levine, president, New York Yankees
- Mayra Linares-Garcia, VP of public affairs and communications, Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages
- Melanie Littlejohn, chair, board of directors, CenterState CEO
- Cheryl McKissack Daniel, president & CEO, McKissack & McKissack
- Elizabeth Moore, general Counsel, Con Edison
- Wes Moore, CEO, Robin Hood
- William J. Mulrow, former secretary to the Governor
- John McAvoy, chairman, president & CEO, Con Edison
- Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group
- Kim Pegula, president and CEO, Pegula Sports and Entertainment
- Charles Phillips, chair, Infor
- Scott Rechler, CEO and chairman, RXR Realty
- Lisa Rosenblum, vice chair, Altice
- Jane Rosenthal, co-founder & CEO, Tribeca Enterprises
- Bill Rudin, Rudin Management Company
- Kevin Ryan, co-founder, MongoDB
- Rob Sands, chairman, Constellation Brands
- Leonard Schleifer, CEO, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals
- Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy
- Rob Speyer, president and CEO, Tishman Speyer
- Elizabeth Velez, CEO Velez Organization & chair, NY Building Congress
- Ken Sunshine, president, Sunshine Sachs
- Steve Swartz, president and CEO, Hearst; co-chair, Partnership for NYC
- Chandrika Tandon, chair, Tandon Capital Associates
- Elinor Tatum, publisher and EIC, New York Amsterdam News
- John Waldron, president and COO, Goldman Sachs
- Nicole Wegman, senior vice president, Wegmans
- Anthony Welters, executive chairman, BlackIvy Group, LLC
- Jeff Wilpon, COO, NY Mets
- Tren’ness Woods-Black, Sylvia’s Restaurant
Education
- Bill Berkley, chair, NYU
- Elizabeth Bradley, president, Vassar College
- Dr. Katherine Conway-Turner, president, SUNY Buffalo State College
- Shirley Ann Jackson, president, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Mary Beth Labate, president, Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities
- Joanie Mahoney, COO, SUNY ESF
- Carl McCall, Former Chair, SUNY Board of Trustees; Former NYS Comptroller
- Father Joseph McShane, president, Fordham University
- Dr. Belinda S. Miles, president, SUNY Westchester Community College
- Orinthia T. Montague, president, Tompkins Cortland Community College
- Martha Pollack, president, Cornell University
- Ty Stone, president, Jefferson County Community College
- Bill Thompson, chairman, CUNY
- Merryl Tisch, chairman, SUNY
- Dennis Walcott, former NYC School Chancellor
- Kristine M. Young, president, Orange County Community College
Nonprofits
- Alicia Fernandez Dicks, president and CEO, Community Foundation of Oneida and Herkimer
- Elizabeth Alexander, president, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
- Maria Imperial, CEO, YWCA White Plains & Central Westchester
- Gerrard P. Bushell, former president and CEO, the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY)
- Michele Johnson, president of YWCAs NYS
- Brenda McDuffie, president and CEO, Buffalo Urban League
- Marc Morial, president and CEO, National Urban League
- Frankie Miranda, president and CEO, Hispanic Federation
- Ana Oliveira, president and CEO, The New York Women’s Foundation
- Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, president and CEO, Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
- Linda Brown-Robinson, president, Syracuse Onondaga NAACP
- Steven Rubenstein, chairman, Association for a Better New York
- Theresa Sanders, president, Urban League of Long Island
- Jaime Saunders, CEO, United Way of Greater Rochester
- Diane Serratore, executive director, Help From People to People
- Fanny Villarreal, executive director, YWCA Syracuse Onondaga County
- Darren Walker, president, Ford Foundation
- Jo-Ann Yoo, executive director, Asian American Federation
- Sheena Wright, president and CEO, United Way of New York City
Labor
- Vincent Alvarez, president, NYC Central Labor Council
- Kyle Bragg, president, SEIU 32BJ
- James Cahill, president, NYS Building and Construction Trades
- Mario Cilento, president, NYS AFL-CIO
- George Gresham, president, 1199SEIU
- Pat Kane, executive director, New York State Nurses Association
- Gary LaBarbera, president, Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York
- Peter Ward, president, NY Hotel & Motel Trades Council, AFL-CIO
Business advocacy groups
- Quenia Abreu, president, New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce
- Heather Briccetti, president and CEO, The Business Council
- Wellington Chen, executive director, Chinatown Business Improvement District
- Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO, Hotel Association of NYC
- Dr. Amarilis Jacobo, president, National Hispanic Dental Association
- Bea Grause, president, Healthcare Association
- Kevin Law, president and CEO, Long Island Association, Inc
- Candice Niu, executive director, China General Chamber of Commerce
- Elizabeth Peralta, executive director, National Supermarket Association
- Ted Potrikus, president and CEO, Retail Council of New York State
- Ken Raske, president, Greater NY Hospital Association
- Andrew Rigie, president, NYC Hospitality Alliance
- Julie Samuels, president, Tech:NYC
- Carlo Scissura, president and CEO, NY Building Congress
- Lisa Sorin, president, Bronx Chamber of Commerce
- Crickett Thomas-O’Dell, regional director, Workforce Development Institute
- Lourdes Zapata, president and CEO, South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
- Kathy Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for NYC
- Jim Whelan, president, Real Estate Board of New York
