Cuomo collects mayoral endorsement as women protest outside Manhattan rally

As former Gov. Andrew Cuomo picked up the first labor endorsement of his newly-announced mayoral campaign Saturday, a crowd of women activists rallied outside the Lower Manhattan venue, claiming that past sexual harassment allegations against him make him unfit to govern.

In 2021, Cuomo resigned as governor after the New York attorney general’s office claimed he had sexually harassed at least 11 women. Key Democrats, including former President Joe Biden, had called for his resignation. The Department of Justice reached a civil rights settlement with the state over the allegations last year and concluded that Cuomo had subjected at least 13 female employees to a “sexually hostile work environment.”

Now, nearly four years later, Cuomo announced that he will run for New York City mayor, positioning himself as a candidate to save the city from "crisis," including "the migrant influx to random violence," according to a video he posted to X on Saturday. Cuomo entered the race as its frontrunner with 38% of the vote, ahead of Mayor Eric Adams, according to a recent poll by the Honan Strategy Group. Adams has been embroiled in controversy since he was indicted on federal bribery charges last year.

Outside a carpenters union rally in Lower Manhattan on Sunday, more than 50 women chanted, holding signs that read "Say No to Cuomo" and "Serial Sex Harasser." Several women activists on Sunday said the allegations against Cuomo put him on the defensive at a time when New York City’s executive branch is mired in scandal.

“This is just the next step in him trying to regain power without actually owning what he did to women, to the city, to the state, to 19 million New Yorkers,” Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, told Gothamist.

Beside the rally, a long line of mostly men from the DC9 carpenters union waited to see Cuomo. The men raised their fists in defiance to an activist chanting “shame” through a megaphone. The men declined to speak with Gothamist after several attempts for comment. A union steward said the members were encouraged not to speak with the press.

Ana Maria Archila, an attorney and activist with the New York Working Families Party, pointed out the divide between men, who mostly supported Cuomo, and women, who mostly did not.

“The contrast could not be starker,” Archila said. “Andrew Cuomo is seeking refuge in a crowd of men as he launches his campaign for Mayor while women are standing outside saying, ‘We have not forgotten the stories of the women that came forward. We have not forgotten the ways that Andrew Cuomo abused his power with his female employees.’”

In between speeches, activists recited and chanted excerpts from the deposition of Brittany Commisso, a former aide to Cuomo who alleged he groped her in 2020.

The allegations against Cuomo came from several women who worked for him in the governor’s office. One woman accused the former governor of groping her, while another woman said he asked her personal and inappropriate questions. Cuomo has repeatedly denied the allegations.

His attorney, Rita Glavin, told reporters Sunday that the allegations against Cuomo are a sham.

"For anyone that has any question about Gov. Cuomo, his integrity, his work ethic and whether he's the right person for this job, all you had to do was hear him today. What happened to him was wrong,” Glavin said.

Inside the labor endorsement event, Cuomo spoke about his goal to save the city from crisis and the need to improve public safety. He did not bring up the allegations against him.

“We are in an era at this moment in time, unfortunately, where men in power think that the abuse of women is acceptable,” said artist and activist Paola Mendoza, rallying outside. “So as a woman of New York City, I’m saying absolutely not.”

Brigid Bergin contributed reporting.