What you need to know for Thursday.
Former Aide Says Cuomo 'Kissed Me on the Lips' |
Weather: Sunny and blustery. High in the mid- to upper 40s. |
Alternate-side parking: In effect today, suspended tomorrow for Purim. |
 | | Pool photo by Seth Wenig |
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A former aide to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo published an essay on Wednesday accusing the governor of sexual harassment, saying he jokingly suggested a strip poker game and gave her an unwanted kiss, among other unsettling episodes. |
The aide, Lindsey Boylan, said that she left her job as a special adviser to the governor shortly after the incident where he "kissed me on the lips." |
"No woman should feel forced to hide their experiences of workplace intimidation, harassment and humiliation — not by the governor or anyone else," she wrote. |
The accusations are just the latest issue to embroil the Cuomo administration. |
Here's what you need to know: |
Ms. Boylan first publicly accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment in posts on Twitter in December. Mr. Cuomo denied her allegations at the time. |
In the essay, Ms. Boylan offered more details about several uncomfortable interactions, including a boss telling her that "the governor had a 'crush' on me." |
Mr. Cuomo again disputed Ms. Boylan's accusations. |
"Ms. Boylan's claims of inappropriate behavior are quite simply false," said a statement from his press secretary on Wednesday. |
The spotlight on the governor |
The new scrutiny on Mr. Cuomo's personal conduct came after Ron Kim, a Queens assemblyman who publicly criticized the governor, said last week that Mr. Cuomo had threatened to "destroy" him. |
The governor has a penchant for verbally attacking and attempting to intimidate aides, officials and political foes, people familiar with his behavior told my colleagues Jesse McKinley and Luis Ferré-SadurnÃ. |
Ms. Boylan wrote that the governor had "created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected." |
Many across the country had come to see Mr. Cuomo as an authoritative leader through his televised briefings during the pandemic, for which he won an International Emmy Award. |
But Ms. Boylan's essay arrived as the governor's administration was under fire for withholding data on coronavirus-related deaths of nursing home residents, which has led federal prosecutors to open an investigation. |
After Mr. Kim criticized the administration's handling of the nursing home controversy, he said he got a late-night call from Mr. Cuomo, who threatened to publicly tarnish the assemblyman. |
Ms. Boylan wrote that reprisals like that had a chilling effect on other victims of the governor's behavior. |
"There are many more of us," she wrote, "but most are too afraid to speak up." |
A 6-year-old boy was killed in Brooklyn after he was run over by the school bus he was trying to catch. [Daily News] |
A man who investigators said targeted women with light complexions in attacks in East Williamsburg was charged with hate crimes. [NBC News] |
The New York Police Department and the Department of Transportation both criticized a City Council plan for the D.O.T. to take over crash investigations. [New York Post] |
And finally: A treasure hunt on the streets |
Whether you call it stooping, trash stalking or simply scavenging, the pandemic has turned the city's street corners into troves of free stuff. |
Several Instagram accounts devoted to combing through the city's trash have attracted thousands of followers and helped turn what was once a niche pastime into a phenomenon. Photos of abandoned finds can send "stoopers" racing, and also provide a glimpse into the character of different neighborhoods. |
"A piano made of dark wood tossed out in Alphabet City in Manhattan," writes my colleague Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura. "A bowling ball (with a leather case) available in Clinton Hill in Brooklyn. A terrifying-looking dollhouse and an equally nightmare-inducing portrait of a family of cats were up for grabs on the Upper West Side of Manhattan." |
Stoopers theorize that the abundant discards may be connected to how people are trapped inside, constantly rethinking their furnishings. The boredom of the pandemic — and plain frugality — has also led many to embrace an activity they might once have considered repellent. |
"In the beginning I was like, 'Dude, that's trash,'" said Domarc Dayondon, who lives in a one-bedroom apartment in Astoria, Queens. |
Mr. Dayondon, 34, said that his thinking has since changed. Now, he said, "I'm getting bogged down with furniture I don't need." |
"Is there a stooping A.A.? Because I might need one." |
It's Thursday — keep an eye out for treasure. |
Metropolitan Diary: From above |
I was on my way to meet my mother at an art gallery in Chelsea. As I crossed 10th Avenue and was about to disappear under the High Line, something hit my left shoulder with a squish and a thud. |
I looked at the ground and saw the eye of a silvery fish staring up at me. I also noticed opalescent scales and a bit of blood on my shoulder and back. I looked up and saw three sea gulls flying overhead, probably taking dinner back to the river in their beaks. |
I immediately looked around to determine whether anyone else had seen what had happened. I motioned toward several teenage girls who were nearby. |
"Did you see that?" I shouted. |
They had, and we all laughed about it. Then I texted a picture of the fish to my crush. |
"I got hit by this fish," I wrote. "I think this is super good luck." |
Hours later, she replied. |
"I'm a Pisces," the message said. |
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