New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference. | Seth Wenig / AP Photo
NEW YORK – A former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo said the governor kissed her without her consent and asked her to play strip poker, alleging a pattern of sexual harassment that she detailed in a new report on Wednesday.
Lindsey Boylan, who is running for the Manhattan district presidency and previously worked for Cuomo and the state’s economic development agency, wrote in a Medium post that Cuomo kissed her on the lips against her will in her Manhattan office.
The former employee’s accusations come as the governor is inundated with accusations that he covered up deaths from coronavirus in New York’s nursing homes. The rush has sparked accusations in the New York political world about Cuomo’s tyrannical behavior – including a recent allegation by Congressman Ron Kim, who said the governor threatened to “destroy him” because of Kim’s criticisms of the asylum disaster.
“Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying are so widespread that they are not only tolerated, but expected. His inappropriate behavior towards women was an assertion that he liked you, that you must be doing something right, ”wrote Boylan. “He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared speak, you would face the consequences. “
Boylan said the kiss came after she gave the governor an individual briefing on the state’s economic and infrastructure projects.
“We were in his New York City office on Third Avenue. When I got up to go out and walk towards an open door, he stopped in front of me and kissed me on the mouth. I was in shock, but I kept walking, ”wrote Boylan.
She said she left another employee’s desk. “I was afraid that she had seen the kiss. The idea that someone might think that I maintained my high position because of the governor’s ‘passion’ for me was more degrading than the kiss itself, ”she wrote. “After that, my fears got worse. I came to work with nausea every day. My relationship with his senior team – mostly women – became hostile after I started speaking for myself. I was scolded and told to get in line by your top advisers, but I couldn’t ignore that anymore. “
Boylan accused Cuomo of sexual harassment for the first time in December, but went into detail for the first time on Wednesday. Cuomo previously denied Boylan’s accusations.
“Look, I fought and I believe that a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express questions and concerns,” said Cuomo in December. “But that is not true”.
Cuomo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Boylan could not be reached for comment.
Beginning in 2015, Boylan was vice president and then chief of staff for Empire State Development. She then became Undersecretary for Economic Development and special advisor to the governor, a position she initially refused because she felt uncomfortable near Cuomo, but ended up accepting, at his insistence, with the agreement that she would work on another floor. She ran unsuccessfully for Congress against Congressman Jerry Nadler last year.
In October 2017, Boylan said he was flying on the Cuomo government jet from an event in western New York.
“Let’s play strip poker,” she quoted the governor as saying that they were sitting facing each other, close enough that their knees almost touched, in the presence of a state police officer and press officer.
She said she tried to ignore the comment, replying sarcastically, “This is exactly what I was thinking.”
The former aide said she first chose to go public with her allegations of harassment when she heard Cuomo’s name as a candidate for the United States attorney general in December.
“I am forced to tell my story because no woman should feel forced to hide her experiences of intimidation, harassment and humiliation in the workplace – not even by the governor or anyone else,” she wrote on Wednesday. “I hope that the governor and his key advisers will try to depreciate me further, just as they did with Assembly member Kim. They would lose their jobs if they didn’t protect him. That’s how your administration works. I know why I was part of it. ”
Boylan said that shortly after meeting Cuomo in 2016 at an event at Madison Square Garden to promote the Pennsylvania Station-Farley Complex project, her boss told her that the governor had a “crush” on her.
Another employee told her that Cuomo suggested that she look for images of Lisa Shields, her alleged ex-girlfriend, because “we could be sisters” and she was “the prettiest sister”, and then started calling her Lisa in front of colleagues. Boylan’s post included screenshots of some emails and text messages she exchanged with family and colleagues about the governor’s behavior.
Cuomo also touched her on the lower back, arms and legs, said Boylan.
She also described being summoned to Cuomo’s office, where he showed a box of cigars that was a gift from former President Bill Clinton, which she interpreted as a reference to Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky.
The governor made negative comments about the weight of female colleagues and their personal relationships, Boylan said.
“To tell my truth is not to seek revenge. I was proud to work in the Cuomo administration, “Boylan wrote.” For a long time, I admired the governor. But your abusive behavior must stop. ”
Anna Gronewold contributed to this report.