No, New York didn’t lift COVID-19 restrictions because of a Cuomo wedding

On Tuesday, June 15, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted immediately because New York had reached an important milestone: 70% of adults have received at least the first dose of a vaccine.

But it didn’t take long for some social media users to start speculating that the governor had a more personal rationale for lifting the restrictions. 

"Cuomo opens New York 72 hours before his daughter's wedding SUCKERS," reads one Facebook post shared hours after Cuomo’s announcement.

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

Is there any truth to the claim? No. Cuomo’s daughters aren’t getting married this weekend, and restrictions were lifted only because New York met its vaccination goal.

None of Cuomo’s three daughters are getting married any time soon "as far as we know," said Rich Azzopardi, director of communications and senior advisor to Cuomo.

He explained that 70% of adults being vaccinated was a "benchmark for opening," and said the administration was "excited to reach that mark on Tuesday."

When making the announcement, Cuomo cited the Biden administration’s goal of giving 70% of adults nationwide at least the first dose of a vaccine by July 4. 

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"It is the national goal and we hit it ahead of schedule," Cuomo said. "What does 70% mean? It means that we can now return to life as we know it. [...] The state mandates that have proven right and correct and brought us through the pandemic are relaxed as of today, effective immediately."

Claims about a Cuomo wedding have been circulating on social media for weeks. Azzopardi, and journalists working to debunk the claims pointed out that they were based on a decades-old article.

"The source of all this is a Buffalo News clip," Azzopardi said, noting that the story was from 1993.

The article, dated May 15, 1993, is titled, "Cuomo daughter to wed judge’s son on June 12." The story refers to Madeline Cuomo — Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sister. At the time, Mario Cuomo, Andrew Cuomo’s father, was the governor of New York.

In other words, Azzopardi said, the article that prompted the social media posts was about "the wrong Governor Cuomo."

A Facebook user claimed, "Cuomo opens New York 72 hours before his daughter's wedding."

None of Cuomo’s daughters are getting married this weekend or plan to in the near future. Cuomo announced that state-mandated COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted on June 15 because 70% of adult New Yorkers have received a vaccine.

We rate this claim False.