New York state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli released an audit on Friday showing that much of the medical equipment, including oxygen tanks, ventilators and CPAP machines purchased by the Cuomo administration in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic have just been sitting around in their original packaging in warehouses in various parts of the state. 

Some of this equipment needs regular maintenance, which it has not received. 

Of the almost 250,000 medical devices currently in these warehouses, purchased for about $453 million, only three devices were ever used. This means an unknown number of items in the state’s stockpile of medical equipment could be expired or no longer functioning the way it’s supposed to.

In the June 2024 Olson Report, a COVID-19 review that Gov. Kathy Hochul ordered, one of the main recommendations was to “enhance stockpile management," a recommendation that the comptroller says wasn’t followed.  

DiNapoli joined Capital Tonight’s Susan Arbetter on Monday to discuss the findings. 

Capital Tonight requested a comment from the Hochul administration which took issue with and downplayed the results of the audit because the auditors’ bias may have impacted the selection of medical devices and their conclusions. 

According to a spokesperson for the New York State Department of Health:

“The State Department of Health maintains proper internal controls and processes that ensure appropriate stewardship over State assets. The Comptroller’s recent audit reviewed select procurements made during the COVID-19 health emergency when the State’s standard processes were suspended, due to an unprecedented, extraordinary need for medical countermeasures that could make the difference between life or death for New Yorkers. While the Comptroller’s audit identified documentation discrepancies for procurements that were made outside of the Department’s purview during the COVID-19 health emergency, the Department regularly reviews and maintains all equipment currently available in the Emergency Medical Stockpile, takes actionable measures as appropriate, and maintains transparent documentation of these measures. This includes, but is not limited to, workgroup recommendations for preventative maintenance measures pursuant to manufacturers recommendations.” 

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, sent the following statement to Capital Tonight in response to a request for comment:

“You can Monday morning quarterback now, but then we were looking to save lives and doing nothing wasn’t an option. The fact that New Yorkers worked together to defy the models, bend the curve weeks before COVID cases were projected to peak and stop the worst case scenario and make it so that this emergency equipment didn’t need to be dispatched is a good thing.”

Cuomo is running for New York City mayor.