NEW YORK - Governor Andrew Cuomo and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance are focusing on the investigation into sexual misconduct allegations against former State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

The two appeared Thursday afternoon in Midtown alongside Nassau County DA Madeline Singas, who has been appointed special prosecutor for the case instead of Vance.

The governor says Vance has a conflict of interest because of the ongoing probe by the attorney general’s office into how the DA handled accusations against Harvey Weinstein.

"I think the governor's office and our office were not in communication as carefully during this period as perhaps we could have been," Vance Jr. said.

"My feeling was given the Harvey Weinstein case - given the overlap with the attorney general's office - this could generate a perception of conflict," Cuomo said.

Schneiderman was accused of abuse by four women in a New Yorker article published Monday. 

He resigned hours later. 

The team is urging anyone with information in the case to call a special hotline at (516) 287-3938.

Schneiderman, meantime, has reportedly hired top criminal defense attorney Isabelle Kirshner to defend him against sexual abuse allegations.

Published reports say Schneiderman retained Kirshner, who has been a defense attorney for more than 30 years, and previously worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

Schneiderman emerged from his Upper West Side apartment Wednesday. It was his first public outing since his resignation.

As the investigation gets underway, the State Legislature has begun accepting applications to fill the vacancy.

Some are speculating that Preet Bharara could throw his hat into the ring.

The former U.S. Attorney previously said said he is not interested in electoral politics, but in his podcast, he did leave the door open for a possible run for office.

"But it is a really important job, and it's especially important now when the rule of law is under attack, when we still have pockets of corruption every where you look. So it's a tough thing to think about," Bharara said.

Several other names such as public advocate Letitia James have been thrown around as potential candidates.

Interviews will be held by a bi-partisan committee beginning on May 15.