Bronx State Sen. Alessandra Biaggi, who represents the 34th senatorial district and who is a survivor of sexual abuse, called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, on Saturday, Feb. 27, to resign in the wake of more assertions of sexual harassment by the governor, alleged by a second former aide. Other elected officials have called for an independent investigation into the allegations.

 

“The assertions against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo by Charlotte Bennett detail behavior that is unacceptable,” Biaggi said. “I am especially horrified by the comments the governor made to Charlotte about her experience with sexual assault –– comments he did not deny making. They are the epitome of a hostile work environment.”

 

Bennett, 25, a former aide of the governor, told her story of her experiences working with the governor, which began in 2019, to The New York Times on Saturday, and alleges sexual harassment by him, saying that he asked her questions about her sex life, whether she was monogamous in her relationships, and if she had ever had sex with older men.

 

A former executive assistant and health policy adviser in the Cuomo administration, Bennett said the questions had scared her and that she began to worry about the future of her position within the administration. In the article, it was also reported that she allegedly mentioned to the governor that she had played middle-school soccer against one of his daughters.

 

Cuomo said in a statement to The New York Times on Saturday that he believed he had been acting as a mentor, and had “never made advances toward Ms. Bennett.” He also said, “Nor did I ever intend to act in any way that was inappropriate.” He said he had requested an independent review of the matter and asked that New Yorkers await the findings “before making any judgments.”

 

Meanwhile, Biaggi wrote, “I commend the courage of Ms. Bennett and Lindsey Boylan for coming forward. The harassment experienced by these former staffers is part of a clear pattern of abuse and manipulation by the Governor, and that pattern makes him unworthy of holding the highest office in New York.”

 

It was previously reported by a number of media outlets, including CBS News, on Thursday, Feb. 25, that Lindsey Boylan, a former top aide to Cuomo, accused the governor of alleged intimidation and sexual harassment, expanding on allegations she first made in December 2020. It was reported that in an essay posted to Medium on Wednesday, the former staffer accused the governor of going “out of his way” to touch her “lower back, arms and legs,” and kissed her during a one-on-one meeting.

 

Boylan is a candidate for the position of Manhattan borough president. She had previously written in a series of December tweets that the governor had sexually harassed her for years. In a further series of tweets posted on Saturday, she wrote in one, “You are not going to derail or destroy any more lives @NYGovCuomo.”

You are not going to derail or destroy any more lives @NYGovCuomo.

— Lindsey Boylan (@LindseyBoylan) February 27, 2021

 

As reported by CBS News, Cuomo has also denied Boylan’s accusations, and said during a recent, regularly scheduled press conference, “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. But it’s just not true.”

 

Biaggi called for an independent investigation into the allegations made by Bennett and Boylan, and by any forthcoming survivors, saying, “The governor’s influence touches all entities in New York that might review his conduct. The current review, arranged by the governor’s team, and overseen by an individual who has a work history with his close associates, does not meet any standard of independence. While a truly independent investigation may uncover more evidence or instances of abuse, the existing details are sufficient for me to form my conclusion.”

 

She added, “As a New Yorker, a legislator, chair of the Senate Ethics and Internal Governance Committee, and a survivor of sexual abuse, I am calling for Gov. Cuomo to resign.”

 

It is not the first time that Biaggi has been critical of the governor. When interviewed by the Norwood News for a story which ran last month about her reasons for supporting New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, in his bid for mayor, she described the relationship between New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Cuomo as “childish.”

 

“It’s all about getting there first. It’s like a rush to the finish line – who can announce what the new idea or policy is first, and that’s childish,” she said. By contrast, Biaggi said good leadership entailed leaders collectively using their power to help the most people. Another reason Biaggi said she was supporting the comptroller for mayor was his zero-tolerance stance on sexual misconduct, a cause the senator has been vocal about throughout her career, saying Stringer had been ahead of the game even before the #MeToo movement became a global phenomenon.

 

But of all the issues on which the senator has been most critical of the governor, the one that has caused perhaps the most news has been his handling of the COVID-19 crisis in state nursing homes, and an amendment in the State budget which provided immunity to certain persons and institutions, who and which could otherwise have been found to have been potentially negligent in their care of nursing home residents.

 

Last June, the Norwood News reported, that the senator, together with Assemblymember Ron Kim, introduced a State bill to repeal the amendment in the state budget that had given blanket corporate immunity to nursing home owners, shareholders, and trustees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Such a repeal would have enabled families to pursue a legal pathway that could have uncovered evidence of poor care by nursing homes. As of that date, over 5,600 families had lost a loved one living in nursing homes due to COVID-19, as reported by the Norwood News at the time.

 

In July, we later reported how Biaggi explained why she voted against another bill (S8835), the purpose of which was to limit the immunity previously granted in the 2020-21 adopted budget, to health care professionals who were providing diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 directly to confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients. The bill, sponsored by Bronx State Sen. Luis Sepúlveda, who represents the 32nd senatorial district, was passed in the State Senate on July 23.

 

Biaggi, it seemed, did not agree that Bill S8835 went far enough in holding nursing homes and their representatives accountable for any potential neglect, despite the bill limiting the immunity previously granted to them in the 2020-21 adopted budget. Norwood News has reached out to the senator’s office to clarify if this was indeed her intention in voting against this bill, and will update this story upon receipt of a response.

 

The senator said, at the time, “More than 6,500 New Yorkers have died in nursing homes and adult care facilities from COVID-19 – almost 800 people in the Bronx alone. Each one of these deaths represents a family mourning and looking for answers.”

 

She added, “But because of the governor’s Emergency Disaster Treatment Protection Act that was slipped into the budget this year, those healthcare facilities have been stripped of liability for the New Yorkers in their care. We have an obligation to right this wrong and create transparency and accountability for the thousands of families who have lost their loved ones.”

 

Referring to the original blanket immunity granted in the amended State budget, she added, “In my seventeen months in office, this budget provision is one of the most egregious abuses of power I have seen.” Norwood News previously reported on the widespread death caused by COVID-19 in various nursing homes across the Bronx, at the height of the pandemic.

 

As also reported by the Norwood News, New York State Attorney General Laetitia James, issued a report on Jan. 28, on New York’s “Nursing Home Response to COVID-19 Pandemic.” The report found that State Department of Health (DOH) data undercounted the number of nursing home deaths from COVID-19 by as much as 50 percent, and that early DOH guidance to nursing homes to re-admit COVID positive patients may have increased the risk of fatalities in nursing homes.

 

At the time of the release of the report, James called for the repeal of immunity provisions in Article 30-D of the Public Health Law which, according to her report, may have provided financial incentives to nursing homes to put residents at risk.

 

Following various questions as to the accuracy of the reported deaths in nursing homes from COVID-19, the governor acknowledged, on Feb. 15, that the reported numbers had not in fact been accurate.

 

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, Biaggi and the Senate Democratic majority passed legislation to better support and protect nursing home residents. The legislative package will establish a direct patient care spending ratio for nursing homes, create a taskforce to reimagine the delivery of long-term care, allow personal and compassionate care visitors, mandate disclosure of nursing home ratings, and require more infection control policies by nursing homes and require state health officials to conduct more thorough inspections.

 

Biaggi said every nursing home resident was a New Yorker’s beloved family member or loved one, and the loss of over 13,000 nursing home residents to COVID-19 was deeply felt. “Their memory will always have an impact on our communities. For this very reason, I am proud to join my colleagues in passing this legislative package,” she said. “By implementing transparent accountability measures, this package creates moral systematic reform of our nursing home system to ensure our loved ones stay safe.”

 

Following media reports of the alleged second victim of sexual harassment by the governor, Bronx assemblyman, Jeffrey Dinowitz, representing the 81st Assembly District, also issued a brief statement on Sunday, Feb. 28, about the unfolding revelations, saying, “The continued allegations about Governor Cuomo’s behavior towards women working in his office are very serious. Sexual harassment and abusive workplaces cannot be tolerated. A truly independent investigation must be conducted expeditiously.”

 

Later on Sunday, Assemblywoman Nathalia Fernández said that being an elected official was a privilege. “As such, we have to ensure every woman can work in an environment free of sexual harassment. While Gov. Cuomo seems to have listened to many of us who have called for an independent investigation, his referral must be immediate and ensure that the attorney general has subpoena powers,” she said, in reference to the attorney general’s call on the governor to formally refer the matter to her office for investigation, and following his earlier proposal on Sunday for the independent investigation to be led by a former federal judge.

 

“These are serious allegations, and if the investigator finds them to be credible, the governor should submit his resignation to the people of New York,” Fernández said.

 

Also on Sunday, mayoral candidate and former Commissioner for the Department of Sanitation, Kathryn Garcia, issued a further statement on the revelations, saying, “Earlier this week, I stated that I want to see an investigation into the the sexual harassment claim against the governor. With this latest allegation, it is now imperative that a fully independent and fully transparent investigation be conducted into the allegations and the workplace environment in Albany.”

 

She added, “In this moment, we must remember how difficult and terrifying it often is for individuals to come forward with their experiences. We must not only listen, but take allegations seriously and take the appropriate action swiftly.”

 

The mayor also released a statement early on Sunday, saying, “New Yorkers have seen detailed, documented accounts of sexual harassment, multiple instances of intimidation, and the admitted withholding of information on the deaths of over 15,000 people.”

 

He said questions of this magnitude could not hang over the heads of New Yorkers as the City fights off the pandemic and economic crisis, and that it was clear what had to take place. “The State legislature must immediately revoke the Governor’s emergency powers that overrule local control. In addition, two fully independent investigations must be held immediately into the deaths at nursing homes and the disturbing personal misconduct allegations,” he said.

 

The mayor added that precedence has shown that investigations into the allegations have to be completely independent of the governor’s office. “The investigation into nursing home deaths must be free to examine campaign contributions from the nursing home industry. And the investigation into sexual misconduct must be led by someone fully independent of the governor, not the former business partner of the governor’s top advisor,” he said. “2021 must be a year of progress and recovery. These efforts for transparency must be met.”

 

New York City Council Speaker, Corey Johnson, also released a statement on Sunday, saying, “The allegations against Gov. Cuomo are serious and disturbing. New Yorkers need to have faith that their leaders are not abusing the great power they have been entrusted with by the public. I support a truly independent investigation into the claims made by Lindsey Boylan and Charlotte Bennett.”

 

He added, “The investigation should be handled by Attorney General Letitia James in a thorough and expeditious manner.  In order for this to happen, the governor’s office must refer the matter to the Attorney General and that referral must include subpoena power.”

 

Finally, on Sunday evening, The New York Times reported that Cuomo relented, saying he would grant subpoena power to whomever James designated to lead the independent investigation.

 

In response, James released the following statement on Sunday evening. “We expect to receive a 63(8) referral with subpoena power to investigate allegations of sexual harassment against the governor, in line with our demands and New York state law. The referral would be made solely to the attorney general’s office. This is not a responsibility we take lightly. We will hire a law firm, deputize them as attorneys of our office, and oversee a rigorous and independent investigation.”