Cristina Cuomo Claimed to Enlist Governor's Counsel to Help Hamptons Bar
Texts reveal the wellness guru's efforts on behalf of The Surf Lodge in Montauk
MONTAUK, NY — Cristina Cuomo collaborated with multiple members of then-Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration in 2019 as part of an effort to convince the New York State Liquor Authority to renew the operating licenses of an elite Hamptons hotel and bar, according to text messages reviewed by The Judge Street Journal.
On Sunday, when The New York Post reported that Cristina sent an email to the SLA regarding the Surf Lodge’s liquor and live music licenses with the subject “A Letter from Cristina Cuomo,” the wellness guru downplayed her brother-in-law’s involvement. She said she sent the letter “as a member of the Hamptons community to help a friend,” adding “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
But according to screenshots of text messages and emails reviewed by The Judge Street Journal, Cristina said she was coordinating with at least two members of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration—his chief counsel and a woman she described as his “right arm”—as well as her husband Chris Cuomo, to rescue the glitzy venue after a string of violations.
It’s not the only time the brothers Cuomo have skirted ethical lines. In 2021, Cuomo the Younger was fired from CNN after it became known that he called journalists on the Governor’s behalf. Since then, both men have attempted to rehab their public images.
A spokesperson for Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign told The Judge Street Journal he knew nothing about his sister-in-law’s lobbying effort and “certainly took no action.”
Cristina and Chris did not respond to a request for comment. Neither did Surf Lodge owner Jayma Cardoso.
The text messages and emails reviewed by The Judge Street Journal give new insight into the ease with which those close to the former governor leveraged his political power. As Cuomo tries to convince voters that his resignation was just a big misunderstanding, his last term in office continues to bear new scandal.
In late 2018, Surf Lodge owner Jayma Cardoso texted one of her employees in a panic.
“The town is refering (sic) the surflodge to the sla as we are bandits n asking them to pull [our] license u should tell cristina,” Cardoso wrote, according to a screenshot reviewed by The Judge Street Journal, seemingly referring to Cristina Cuomo.
Earlier that year, then-Governor Cuomo’s daughters, Michaela and Mariah, hosted a fundraiser at The Surf Lodge for their father’s primary battle against progressive politico and actress Cynthia Nixon. To the disappointment of some of his supporters, Cuomo never showed.
On December 29, 2018, Cristina wrote an email to Cardoso. “I am in Puerto Rico … and we were talking about the liquor license with my husband. He's asking me the name of your lawyer?”
Cardoso forwarded the email to her lawyer on New Year’s Day 2019, telling him to “see below from Cristina Cuomo. Let’s figure out how to tackle this.” She added “... hopefully Cris [sic] Cuomo can speak with his brother to soften up the chairman.finger (sic) crossed!!!!”
On January 31, 2019, Cristina sent a Surf Lodge employee an email with the subject “Re: Vincent Bradley - SLA,” referring to the chairman of the State Liquor Authority.
“Can you draft all the info you want me to include?” Cristina asked the employee.
Cristina then wrote to Bradley on February 7, 2019 with the subject "A Letter from Cristina Cuomo.” The Judge Street Journal obtained a copy of the correspondence through a FOIL request.
“By way of my husband Chris Cuomo, I got your email from my brother-in-law, Governor Andrew Cuomo,” she wrote. “I'm writing on behalf of my friend and fellow Brazilian Jayma Cardoso, proprietor of a wonderful Hamptons music venue called The Surf Lodge in Montauk, New York.”
“The SLA wants to eliminate the live music as part of a proposed settlement with The Surf Lodge, but live music is the foundation of the Surf Lodge's business as well as the lure for most of us Hamptonites,” Cristina Cuomo wrote on February 7. “Given the importance of music to the licensee, Jayma has come up with a wonderful compromise to the existing program of live music seven days a week ending at 9 p.m. She proposed to decrease the schedule to only three days per week of live music ending at 8pm. I do hope you will consider this a reasonable solution.”
On February 27, 2019, Cristina texted a Surf Lodge employee, asking for an update on the bar’s permit battle with the state. The employee responded that Cardoso had another hearing on March 6.
“Ok that’s great,” Cristina wrote back. “I’ll check in with Alfonso in the gov’s office.”
It appears Cristina was referring to but misspelled the first name of Alphonso David, Governor Andrew Cuomo’s chief counsel and principal legal advisor. David was the first Black and first openly gay man to hold the position, and in 2019 he became president of the Human Rights Campaign. In 2021, he was removed from this position by the HRC board after Letitia James’s report on Cuomo’s misconduct found that David leaked confidential information about Lindsey Boylan’s employment history to the press as part of an effort to undermine her accusations.
At the March 6 meeting, Bradley took Cardoso to task.
She complained that The Surf Lodge was, “... being painted as the worst place in the world. Meanwhile, families go there.”
“It is not being painted as the worst place in the world,” Bradley responded. “It is being painted as a place, at least from what I can see, that has been asked to follow certain rules, and has agreed to follow them, and that didn’t all the time.”
On March 25, Cristina texted the Surf Lodge employee again. “I called the Gov’s right arm. Alfonso dropped the ball. She is looking into it but asked me how many violations has she gotten?” she said, according to a screenshot.
A spokesperson for Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign would not say who his “right arm” might have been at the time.
“I just need more information. The Gog’s (sic) person couldn’t believe it was just one violation that is perpetuating this,” Cristina wrote in a subsequent text that day.
On April 4, 2019, the Surf Lodge employee told Cristina that they won their appeal to continue playing live music and serving liquor without restrictions.
“Blessed Day!!!” Cristina responded. “Now the town knows they’re being watched so she won’t be given a hard time this summer either I hope :).”
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The kicker is harrowing