SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Gov. Cuomo strengthened his relationship with City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Thursday during a trip to Puerto Rico — and sealed it with a kiss.
The speaker, a close ally of Mayor de Blasio, grew emotional as she thanked Cuomo for opening a New York state trade, economic-development and tourism office in Old San Juan.
“It’s very emotional personally,” she said of the dire financial status of Puerto Rico, where she was born and raised.
“So thank you, Governor Cuomo . . . You are taking the steps to continue to affirm the commitment in the relationship that New York has with Puerto Rico.”
With Mark-Viverito and a large delegation of New York elected officials seated nearby, Cuomo spoke at length about the close ties between the US territory and New York state.
“We are inextricably linked . . . There is a total simpatico between the communities,” said Cuomo, who also visited Puerto Rico, which is drowning in more than $70 billion in debt, over the summer.
“Friendship is not [just] being there when things are easy,” he added.
“The test of friendship is being there when things are hard.”