Lindsey Boylan, former Cuomo aide, pens bombshell essay detailing allegations of sexual harassment
ALBANY — A former aide to Gov. Cuomo detailed a pattern of sexual harassment in an essay Wednesday, alleging the governor would “go out of his way” to touch her and once kissed her during a one-on-one meeting.
Lindsey Boylan, the former deputy secretary for economic development and special adviser to the governor, outlines a beyond toxic work environment in which top female aides “normalized” their boss’ behavior and she was told by staffers that Cuomo had a “crush” on her.
Boylan backs up her claims against the governor with screenshots of emails and texts.
“I’m compelled to tell my story because no woman should feel forced to hide their experiences of workplace intimidation, harassment and humiliation — not by the Governor or anyone else,” Boylan wrote.
In 2018, after being promoted to a senior adviser position, Boylan claims Cuomo “stepped in front of me and kissed me on the lips” during a one-on-one meeting at the governor’s Manhattan office. The unwanted advance from New York’s most powerful Democrat came after years of harassment, she says.
Screenshots shared along with the essay show emails from Cuomo executive secretary Stephanie Benton allegedly passing along a message from the governor insinuating that Boylan was his type because she looked like one of his former flames.
“He said look up Lisa Shields. You could be sisters. Except you’re the better looking sister,” the 2016 email from Benton reads.
Cuomo went on to call Boylan “Lisa” in front of colleagues, she writes.
“I had complained to friends that the Governor would go out of his way to touch me on my lower back, arms and legs,” she writes. “His senior staff began keeping tabs on my whereabouts.”
Cuomo also made unflattering comments about women’s weight and “ridiculed them about their romantic relationships and significant others,” Boylan adds.
Boylan first came forward in December, alleging on Twitter that Cuomo “sexually harassed me for years,” but declined to talk to the press about the charges.
Cuomo denied the accusations during a press briefing at the time.
“I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has,” the governor said. “But it’s just not true.”
Boylan says she first began to “truly fear” Cuomo in 2016 when she was invited to his office in Albany during a holiday celebration. She says she called her husband and texted her mother as she was summoned to the executive chamber after successfully avoiding the governor at a gathering.
The pair were alone as Cuomo gave Boylan a tour of the office.
“As he showed me around, I tried to maintain my distance,” she writes. “He paused at one point and smirked as he showed off a cigar box. He told me that President Clinton had given it to him while he served as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
“The two-decade-old reference to President Clinton’s affair with Monica Lewinsky was not lost on me,” she adds.
Boylan recounts other inappropriate comments and actions she says the governor made, including giving roses to female staffers and suggesting a game of “strip poker” during a flight from an event in October 2017.
“He is a sexist pig and you should avoid being alone with him!” Boylan’s mother texted her at one point.
Cuomo spokeswoman Caitlin Girouard issued a one-line response to the allegations.
“As we said before, Ms. Boylan’s claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false,” she said.
The governor’s office also included flight logs from the time of the alleged “strip poker” comment and a joint statement from several current and former staffers arguing that the “conversation did not happen.”
Cuomo, who toured a COVID vaccination site in Queens hours before Boylan’s bombshell dropped, did not hold a press briefing on Wednesday.
Boylan, currently running for Manhattan borough president, recently mounted an unsuccessful bid against Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn).
In her essay, she recounts serving as deputy secretary for economic development under Cuomo and as his special adviser from 2015 until 2018, a position she was hesitant to take due to her fears about being in close proximity to Cuomo.
Personnel records from her time with Team Cuomo reveal that Boylan left her post under an administrative cloud.
The records, dated September 2018 and obtained by the Daily News late last year, show that at least two officials requested Boylan be “removed” from the office for requesting the resignation of an employee without authorization and for ordering around colleagues who did not report to her.
“Additional concerns” raised in the records included her treatment of three African-American women, who reported that Boylan bullied them and treated them “like children.”
Boylan’s allegations come as Cuomo faces a firestorm of criticism for the alleged cover up of nursing home deaths and threatening lawmakers, including Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), who went public last week accusing the governor of threatening to “destroy” him.
“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. “His inappropriate behavior 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 added.
