Cuomo's offices are deserted as staffers stop turning up to work amid sexual harassment allegations, report says

Advertisement
Cuomo's offices are deserted as staffers stop turning up to work amid sexual harassment allegations, report says
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing at the Office of the Governor of the State of New York on July 23, 2020 in New York City.Jeenah Moon/Getty Images
  • Gov. Andrew Cuomo is facing growing calls to step down over two separate scandals.
  • Virtually all of Cuomo's staffers want their boss to resign, a source told the New York Post.
  • The governor's workers have stopped turning up to work and his offices are empty, the source added.
Advertisement

Gov. Andrew Cuomo's staffers, disenchanted by the string of sexual harassment allegations against their boss, have stopped turning up to work, sources familiar with the situation told the New York Post.

"I hear that most people aren't even coming into work, and the offices at the Capitol are empty," a source told the paper.

"He'll fight and fight and fight, but the staffers I've talked to are ready for him to hang up the gloves. Everyone feels like there is an inevitable conclusion," the source continued. " I mean at some point will Biden call on him to step down? They [staffers] just want this torture to stop."

A former aide seconded these reports to the New York Post, confirming that Cuomo's offices are sitting empty while the New York governor faces growing calls to resign.

Many workers are not going in and instead choosing to work remotely or at vaccination centers, the ex-staffer told the paper.

Advertisement

Several staffers have already made the decision to resign. But Cuomo's senior advisor, Richard Azzopardi, told the Independent that he disputes the "greatly exaggerated" claims.

An increasing number of employees are, however, worried that their careers might suffer as a result of their boss facing criticism for two separate scandals, a former aide to Cuomo told The New York Post.

Virtually all staffers are eager for their boss to step down imminently, according to the source. "There's a deep sense within the governor's staff that he is guilty of everything, and that is weighing on people," they said.

Several women have alleged that Cuomo sexually assaulted them, behaved inappropriately, or touched them without consent. Cuomo denies these allegations. He is concurrently facing criticism for covering up high nursing home death tolls.

It has also been reported that Cuomo had a history of mistreating his employees. Cuomo's biographer Michael Shnayerson said that the governor frequently verbally abused his subordinates. He "hammered a goodly number of underlings," Shnayerson wrote in a Vanity Fair essay.

Advertisement

Female aides to Cuomo say they were either explicitly told or felt pressured to wear makeup and dress up to please the governor and get ahead professionally, Insider's Eliza Relman reported on Friday.

{{}}