New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Tuesday that he would resign, following calls for his departure after an investigation by the New York state attorney general found hed sexually harassed multiple female employees, violating federal and state law.

New York tough means New York loving, and I love New York, Cuomo said at an emotional news conference, where he said he will resign from his position in 14 days. And I love you. And everything I have ever done has been motivated by that love. And I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. And I think that given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing.

Nine women accused the governor of sexual harassment and inappropriate comments earlier this year, sparking an independent investigation in March. The resulting report , filed in August, painted a deeply disturbing yet clear picture of Cuomos behavior, New York state Attorney General Letitia James (D) said.

In at least one instance, investigators found that the governor and his senior team actively retaliated against a woman who accused Cuomo of sexual harassment.

Gov. Cuomos administration fostered a toxic workplace that enabled harassment and created a hostile work environment where staffers did not feel comfortable coming forward with complaints about sexual harassment due to a climate of fear and given the power dynamics, James said.

Cuomo originally responded by forcefully denying the accusations , prompting New York lawmakers, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), to call for him to step down. President Joe Biden also voiced support for Cuomos resignation.

On Tuesday, Cuomo apologized for comments he made toward women, but denied that he sexually harassed anyone.

There is a difference between alleged improper conduct and concluding sexual harassment, Cuomo said. Now dont get me wrong, this is not to say that there are not 11 women who I truly offended. There are. And for that I deeply, deeply apologize. I thought a hug and putting my arm around a staffer for a picture was friendly, but she found it to be too forward.

I have slipped and called people honey, sweetheart and darling, he added. I meant it to be endearing, but women found it dated and offensive.

Cuomos resignation cuts short a three-term governorship and upends the career of a onetime Democratic Party star, marking one of the most dramatic turns of political fortune in recent U.S. history. New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will replace Cuomo when his resignation is effective in two weeks, becoming the 57th governor of New York and first woman to hold the office.

I agree with Governor Cuomos decision to step down, Hochul said in a statement Tuesday. It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuomo won praise , and even adoration , for his reassuring daily televised press conferences. Politics watchers who hailed his poise credited him for offering a taste of crisis leadership that then-President Donald Trump did not provide.

But instead of catapulting a regional power broker to lasting national influence, Cuomos brief, TV-fueled rise as a folk hero complete with an Emmy Award and a seven-figure book deal ended up foreshadowing the pride before a fall.

Beneath the surface-level adulation, Cuomos critics on the left and right had, for months, blasted the governor for a decision to effectively force ill-equipped nursing homes to admit COVID-19-positive patients discharged from hospitals during the first, most severe months of the pandemic.

Cuomos refusal to share data about the scale of COVID-19-related deaths in those nursing homes with state lawmakers, and his decision to inoculate the homes from lawsuits related to their handling of patients during this period, only added to his skeptics suspicion.