The New York National Guard remains on standby, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Tuesday, but for now will not be deployed to quell unrest in New York City or other areas of the state that continue to grapple with unrest, looting and violence. 

Cuomo, with little prompting, also openly mused about supplanting Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has turned down the offer of deploying Guard units to the city. 

What You Need To Know


  • Cuomo says the National Guard is on standby if needed.

  • Cuomo sharply criticized the response from Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD on Monday.

  • But the mayor has refused National Guards units.

  • Cuomo says the NYPD needs to do a better job quelling unrest.

And, in an extraordinary development, Cuomo criticized the New York City Police Department for failing to stop looters on Monday evening as a curfew for the city took effect at 11 p.m. 

The protests nationwide have now entered their six day over the killing of George Floyd, a Minneapolis man who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. 

President Donald Trump has needled governors and local elected offiicals into deploying the National Guard units to quell the unrest, or he would order the military to end the looting and violence. 

"New York City put on an 11:00 P.M. CURFEW last night," Trump tweeted during Cuomo's press briefing. "No wonder they ripped the place apart. Should be 7:00 P.M. CALL UP THE NATIONAL GUARD."

The unrest is taking place against the backdrop of a pandemic that appears to be waning in New York, though it continues to kill more than 50 New Yorkers a day. Cuomo said on Tuesday hospitalizations remain at an all-time low since the coronavirus pandemic began to spread in March. 

The western New York region is set to begin phase two of the reopening on Tuesday, with the Capital Region following suit on Wednesday, sending office workers back to work and retail stores opening to customers for in-store service. 

But the unrest created by Floyd's death has created a new set of problems for New York officials. 

Cuomo once again on Tuesday sought to separate the peaceful protesters from looters and vandals who he said were trying to take advantage of the situation. 

"We can't blur the line between these problems," Cuomo said. "The protesters are separate from the looters."

Cuomo sharply criticized the NYPD and de Blasio for Monday evening's unrest, reiterating the National Guard was available if city officials asked. 

"My option as governor, we have the National Guard," he said. "I say to cities in New York, I have National Guard available if you need them."

Cuomo added, "The NYPD and the mayor did not do their job last night. I believe that. Second, you have 38,000 NYPD people. It is the largest police department in America. Use 38,000 people and protect property. Use the police, protect property and people."

And Cuomo noted he had the power to remove de Blasio from office, a move Cuomo said would be "chaotic" but also did not completely dismiss. 

"Legally can you replace a mayor? Yes, a mayor can be removed," Cuomo said. "Theoretically it is legally possible. It is a bizarre thing to try to do in this situation. I think it would make a bad situation worse."