Cuomo to make NYS grand juries more transparent

Weeks after a grand jury declined to indict an NYPD officer for the death of Eric Garner, Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters his administration is looking to make the grand jury process more transparent.

“Transparency as a broad value makes sense in these cases,” Cuomo said specifically regarding police-involved deaths. “I don’t know some of the positives and negatives of that kind of releasing of information, my broad view is in favor of transparency.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio was equally nonspecific when asked about the proposal.

“I broadly believe transparency is helpful, because there is so much misinformation that sometimes just having the actual record is helpful,” de Blasio said. “But I can’t comment until I see the specifics.”

Cuomo is expected to unveil the results of ongoing conversations on the subject at his State of the State address on Jan. 21.

Earlier reports said Cuomo might specifically target police-involved cases, but the governor said he was considering various ideas.

Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan — who recently announced his bid for Congress — pushed back again last week against advocates working to release the grand jury’s transcript in the Garner case.