Former Governor Andrew Cuomo’s marketing campaign to turn into the following mayor of New York Metropolis recieved a lift on Saturday, when a union representing greater than 20,000 native transit employees endorsed his candidacy at an occasion on Staten Island.
Daniel Cassella, president of the ATU Native 726 representing Staten Island bus operators and upkeep employees, touted the previous governors’ “historic investments in buses and public transit,” whereas rebuking his opponent, Democratic occasion nominee Zohran Mamdani, saying his proposal to eradicate fares on metropolis buses will price employees their jobs.
“Free fares undercut the very jobs of my members who operate and maintain our buses,” Cassella mentioned. “A free bus proposal hurts Staten Island and hurts New York Metropolis. As we’ve realized in locations like Kansas Metropolis, Austin, Tampa, Raleigh, and Tucson, free bus packages simply don’t work.
“It’s a death spiral for safe quality public transportation,” he mentioned, including that free buses “create dangerous and unpleasant conditions for both workers and passengers.”
Cassella additionally praised Cuomo’s achievements as governor, together with constructing a devoted HOV lane connecting the Staten Island Expressway to the Hugh Carey Tunnel in 2017, “saving Staten Islanders 20 minutes a day, each way, every day.”
“Andrew Cuomo understands Staten Island better than all the other candidates combined,” Cassella mentioned. “Cuomo has always recognized the unique challenges facing our borough’s transit system and is one of the rare elected officials to actually deliver for Staten Island riders and workers alike.”
Cuomo welcomed the union’s endorsement, writing in a press release: “I am deeply honored to receive the support of ATU International and Local 726. Transit workers are the backbone of this city: they keep New York moving. I’ve always believed you don’t expand transit by gimmicks or costly experiments; you expand it by investing in infrastructure, protecting union jobs, and building systems that last.”
Initially Printed: September 27, 2025 at 1:45 PM EDT
