#Hochul distances herself from ‘toxic’ Cuomo administration

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul — who will soon take over for disgraced Gov. Andrew Cuomo — on Wednesday distanced herself from the outgoing chief executive, pledging not to foster a “toxic” environment like the state attorney general probe found he did.

“I think it’s very clear that the governor and I have not been close — physically or otherwise — in terms of much time,” Hochul said during a press conference in Albany, where she made her first public appearance since Cuomo announced Tuesday that he will resign within two weeks.

Hochul insisted that in recent months she’s been “traveling the state” and doesn’t “spend much time” in Cuomo’s “presence or in the presence of many in the state Capitol.”

Hochul declared, “At the end of my term, whenever it ends, no one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment.”

In addition to the substantiation of 11 sexual harassment allegations, Attorney General Letitia James’ probe described Cuomo’s treatment of staff as “toxic” and “bullying.”

After Cuomo’s departure from the governor’s mansion, Hochul will become the first woman governor of New York State.