"It's The Cuomo Way": Former Staffers Describe Toxic Workplace Under Governor’s Relentless Thumb

Sarah (whose real name we are withholding) is a blonde woman in her twenties who won a fellowship to work in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office in 2013. She was surprised, upon arriving, to be quickly invited by senior staffers to sit at a desk positioned right near the governor — in his “line of sight,” as she described it.

At first, she didn’t understand why. Another woman in the office offered her some insight, telling her Cuomo “likes blondes,” particularly those in stiletto heels.

“You gotta wear heels when he’s in Albany sweetie, that’s the rule,” she said the woman told her. So, although Sarah was more accustomed to flats or boots, she soon amassed a small collection of stilettos — not because it was a written rule, but because it seemed necessary to succeed.

Nearly a dozen current and former staffers of Cuomo’s office who spoke to Gothamist/WNYC this week said Cuomo has cultivated an intense work culture that was brutal for some, traumatic for others.