Former aide accuses New York governor Andrew Cuomo of sexually harassing her

A former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo who is running for local political office in New York City has accused him of sexually harassing her.

Lindsey Boylan posted the accusation in a Twitter thread on Sunday while talking about workplace harassment, including personal anecdotes about her and her mother’s own experiences.

“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years. Many saw it, and watched,” Ms Boylan tweeted.

Earlier this week, she had accused Gov. Cuomo of cultivating the “most toxic” work environment that she had experienced in politics, when she worked for him from 2015 to 2018.

So far Ms Boylan, who is campaigning to be the next Manhattan borough president, has declined to talk to the media or provide substantiating evidence to support her claims. Ms Boylan did not respond to The Independent’s request for comment.

Mr Cuomo's office did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment. The governor’s press secretary, Caitlin Girouard, told the New York Times  there is “simply no truth” to Ms Boylan’s claims.

Ms Boylan’s Twitter thread continued: “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.

“Not knowing what to expect what’s [sic] the most upsetting part aside from knowing that no one would do a damn thing even when they saw it. No one.”

She went on: “I'm angry to be put in this situation at all. That because I am a woman, I can work hard my whole life to better myself and help others and yet still fall victim as countless women over generations have. Mostly silently. I hate that some men, like @NYGovCuomo abuse their power.”

Earlier this year, Ms Boylan mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge to New York Congressman Jerry Nadler, who has represented parts of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn, for more than two decades.

She worked for Mr Cuomo’s administration from 2015 to 2018 as a special adviser on economic development. 

In a separate Twitter thread last week, she accused the governor of running an operation where only a select “handful” of people had any real influence, pushing other staffers to the margins. 

That made working for Mr Cuomo “endlessly dispiriting” unless you were part of that in-group, Ms Boylan wrote.

Ms Boylan indicated in a subsequent tweet on Sunday that she is not bent on pursuing her claims in a legal forum or discussing her experience with anyone in the press.

“To be clear: I have no interest in talking to journalists,” Ms Boylan tweeted on Sunday.

“My worst fear is that this continues. And as @FKAtwigs said yesterday, my second worst fear is having to talk about and relive this,” she wrote.

Mr Cuomo is serving his third consecutive term in the governor’s mansion. New York’s Constitution does not place term limits on its top executive office.