New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ‘kissed me and suggested strip poker’, ex-aide Lindsey Boylan says
- In an account published online, Boylan accuses Cuomo of creating a work culture where sexual harassment and bullying were ‘not only condoned but expected’
- The governor is under pressure on multiple fronts, including an FBI and Justice Department investigation for his handling of nursing home Covid-19 deaths
Andrew Cuomo’s former economics aide on Wednesday published a detailed account accusing the New York governor of giving her an unsolicited kiss in his office and inviting her to play strip poker on a jet.
Lindsey Boylan, who worked for Cuomo from 2015 to 2018 and is running for Manhattan borough president, recounted episodes with the governor that she said created a hostile workplace. He denied the claims.
“Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected,” Boylan wrote on Medium.
“His inappropriate behaviour toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences.”
She said the governor touched her lower back, arms and legs, and kissed her unexpectedly in his office on Third Avenue in Manhattan. She said he made his bawdy poker suggestion in front of other officials and a state trooper on a taxpayer-funded flight in 2017.