Former aide to Andrew Cuomo accuses New York governor of sexual harassment

A former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo now running for Manhattan borough president accused him of sexual harassment in a series of tweets on Sunday, saying he made inappropriate comments about her appearance.

The allegation comes as the 63-year-old Democrat is reported to be under consideration for attorney general under Joe Biden.

On Sunday, Lindsey Boylan tweeted that Cuomo “sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched.

“I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation? This was the way for years.”

Caitlin Girouard, Cuomo’s press secretary, said: “There is simply no truth to these claims.”

Boylan, 36, worked for the Cuomo administration from March 2015 to October 2018, as executive vice-president of Empire State Development and then as a special adviser to Cuomo for economic development.

She did not provide details of the alleged harassment and didn’t immediately respond to messages, then tweeted: “To be clear: I have no interest in talking to journalists. I am about validating the experience of countless women and making sure abuse stops.”

Boylan ran against US representative Jerrold Nadler in the 2020 Democratic primary, taking 22% of the vote while arguing the incumbent wasn’t progressive enough. She announced last month that she is running in the 2021 primary to succeed Gale Brewer, the Manhattan borough president.

Earlier this month, Boylan tweeted about her experience in the Cuomo administration, which she said was the worst job she ever had.

“I tried to quit three times before it stuck. I’ve worked hard my whole life. Hustled – fake it till you make it style,” she wrote. “That environment is beyond toxic. I’m still unwrapping it years later in therapy!”

Personnel memos written in 2018, obtained by the Associated Press, indicate Boylan resigned after she was confronted about complaints about her own behavior.

Several women complained to Empire State Development’s human resources department that “Ms Boyland had behaved in a way towards them that was harassing, belittling, and had yelled and been generally unprofessional,” wrote the administration’s ethics officer, Julia Pinover Kupiec, in one memo.

Boylan resigned after meeting officials including Cuomo’s top lawyer, Alphonso David, to be “counseled” about the complaints.

David said in a follow-up memo Boylan contacted him several days later and said she had reconsidered and wished to return to work, but he discouraged her from doing so.