The longtime press secretary of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has abruptly resigned. 

The Washington Examiner reports that the resignation comes as the secretary, Avi Small, is facing sexual harassment allegations.

Small submitted his resignation letter on Friday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's top aide resigns after sexual harassment allegations

Avi Small, the press secretary to New York Governor Kathy Hochul, resigned following sexual harassment allegations, including claims of inappropriate touching of another male aide.

Small had been… pic.twitter.com/e2Wtatlfa3

— Blue Owl (@BlueOwlHoots) July 5, 2025

The details:

Small is accused of sexually harassing a fellow staff member back in June.

The Examiner reports:

The alleged incident occurred on June 16 when the governor's staff went on a retreat in Albany. Small was accused of inappropriately touching a male staffer at a bar in a complaint filed with the executive chamber.

The outlet goes on to explain that, "shortly afterward, Small was placed on administrative leave." He, however, was not informed of the nature of the compalint that had been filed against him.

The New York Post reports:

A Hochul rep said an investigation into Small had “substantively concluded” and the administration is “not aware” of any criminal referrals made in connection with the matter. The governor’s office would not comment on the findings of the probe other than acknowledge Small had resigned.

Something, though, clearly had to happen. Otherwise, Small would not be resigning.

It's not the first time...

It is not the first time that Small has found himself at the center of a controversy.

The New York Post reports, "Small had also been the subject of a hostile-work-environment complaint in early 2024 for allegedly berating staffers, Politico reported Thursday."

This is all a particularly bad look for Hochul, given the circumstances in which she took over as governor of New York. The reader may remember that Hochul's predecessor also had some issues with sexual misconduct.

The Post writes:

Hochul, who took over after then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation amid sexual-harassment allegations against him in 2021, vowed to rehab the culture of the executive chamber at the time." Cuomo has denied all of the accusations against him. “When my term ends, nobody will ever describe my term as a toxic workplace environment,” Hochul vowed.

This is looking more and more unlikely to be true, with Small facing a sexual harassment claim and a hostile work environment claim. It is clear that Hochul, now, is trying to keep this whole situation hush-hush.