Many grieving families in New York who lost elderly relatives during the pandemic came together with eight of Andrew Cuomo’s political opponents on Sunday to solemnly commemorate the five-year anniversary of the former governor’s controversial directive to place COVID patients in nursing homes.

Both the families and the candidates shared feelings of sadness and anger, criticizing Cuomo for his pivotal choice that led to an estimated 15,000 premature deaths of nursing home residents, all while he boasted about his leadership in New York and secured a lucrative book deal.

“My mother, Anna Martinez, was a resilient and compassionate woman who devoted her life to her family,” stated Alexa Rivera, who, along with her sister Vivian Zayas, established Voices for Seniors after the passing of their mother due to Cuomo’s order on March 25, 2020.

“She deserved dignity and protection and a government that valued her life,” Rivera said at the gathering. “But instead she was abandoned by the very system that was supposed to protect her when the pandemic struck.

“I stand before you today not just as a grieving daughter but as the voice for thousands of families who lost their loved ones due to the reckless and deadly decisions of Andrew Cuomo,” Rivera said. “My sister and I started this advocacy group searching for answers, never realizing that the very governor our mother voted for was the one who facilitated her death.

“Let’s be clear: This was not just an accident. It was a failure of leadership, a betrayal of trust and an avoidable tragedy.”

The mood was rife with emotion outside the Cobble Hill brownstone where Norman Arbeeny lived and later died after contracting COVID-19 at the age of 89.

A victims memorial there features a makeshift “wall” that stretches across the quiet block on Amity Street and features photos of hundreds of family members and letters in tribute to those who died.

The wall was flanked by a hearse and a closed coffin — donated by a church down the street — for the event. They were designed to serve as a symbolic reminder of the funerals the mourning families never got to have for their loved ones because of the pandemic.

Many mourners held flowers, which they placed on the coffin before speaking at the podium.

Norman’s son, Peter Arbeeny, one of the founders of the We Care Memorial Wall, hosted the event that was part funeral service and part remembrance ceremony. Speaker after speaker took the microphone to share memories and demand Cuomo take some accountability.

“The governor called out people talking about him being a great manager. Well, he managed to not apologize,” Peter said. “He managed to gaslight our families rather than address our losses. He managed not to follow the CDC guidelines. He managed to lie about the nursing homes. He managed to never admit a mistake. He managed to make our lost loved ones a political issue.”

Peter’s brother, Daniel, remembered their father as a loving man who was full of life, with a sharp mind and still a safe driver even at his advanced age.

“They were our most cherished people, our elders. We want justice for them,” Daniel said. “We want the truth.

“We want government to step up and help us get there so that we don’t have to be sad anymore. We don’t have to hide in our hearts what happened in March, April, May, June of 2020.

“Remember, no funerals. You couldn’t see your loved one. You would have, maximum, 10 people,” he said.

Candidates for mayor including Zellnor Myrie, Jessica Ramos, Jim Walden, Jumane Williams, Zohran Mamdani, Scott Stringer, Curtis Sliwa and Adrienne Adams were on hand for the event and took turns reflecting on the grim anniversary while directing stinging barbs at Cuomo.

“Andrew Cuomo will not be the next mayor of New York City. Because he will not come down from the mountain and confront all of you. He’s scared, he’s a coward,” said Stringer, the city’s former comptroller.

Council Speaker Adams, who shared the story of losing her father to COVID in May 2020, voiced empathy with the crowd.

“I stand with all of you that were victimized by a so-called governor that too this day still can’t take accountability for what he did to you. I stand here in solidarity missing my daddy as his oldest child, missing him every single day of my life,” she said.

City Comptroller Brad Lander, who has also thrown his hat in the ring for mayor, said, “By October [2020], thousands of people had died in nursing homes after the March 25 order, and there was no accountability for it.

“There was already a book deal, there was already marking up the State Department [of Health] report to undercount and misrepresent nursing-home deaths, but there was no accountability. There was no apology. There was no meeting with families or looking into the eyes of victims.”

In a statement to The Post, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi expressed sorrow to the families who lost loved ones and sharply clapped back at the wave of criticism from the former governor’s opponents.

“Our hearts break for the families of every person who lost a loved one — but unfortunately, as the [Department of Justice Inspector General] confirmed, that pain has been weaponized and politicized for purely electoral purposes for years,” he wrote.

“Being Mayor of the greatest city in the world is a tremendous undertaking that requires experience, a proven track record of accomplishment and management capacity — traits none of these extreme MAGA or [Democratic Socialists of America] candidates have.”