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"In my mind I've never crossed the line with anyone," he said in a televised announcement.
The move follows a blistering report from the state’s attorney general that Cuomo had sexually harassed several women, which prompted calls from top Democrats – including President Joe Biden – that he step down.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, will become New York’s first female governor when she serves out the rest of Cuomo’s term, beginning in two weeks.
"There are no excuses," Cuomo said, while insisting that he didn't believe he'd done anything wrong.
“I thought a hug and putting my arm around a staff person while taking a picture was friendly, but she found it to be too forward," the third-term governor said. "I kissed a woman on the cheek at a wedding and I thought I was being nice. But she felt that it was too aggressive.
“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.
“I said on national TV to a doctor wearing PPE and giving me a COVID nasal swab ‘You make that gown look good.’ I was joking. Obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t have said it on national TV. But she found it disrespectful.
“I take full responsibility for my actions," Cuomo said. "I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting.
“I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life," he said. "It’s who I’ve been since I can remember. In my mind I’ve never crossed the line with anyone.
“But I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn," he added. "There have been generational and cultural shifts which I didn’t appreciate it.
“Don’t get me wrong. This is not to say that there are 11 women who I truly offended. There are," Cuomo said. "And for that I deeply, deeply apologize."
The governor said that “given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to government, and therefore that is what I'll do, because I work for you, and doing the right thing, is doing the right thing for you.”
It began when former aide Lindsey Boylan cited "pervasive harassment" by Cuomo in an essay on the Medium website.
Among the inappropriate comments Boyland said the governor made was a request to play strip poker. Another time, she said, he kissed her on the lips when they were alone.
The governor’s office deemed her claims “quite simply false.”
They were the catalyst, however, for other women coming forward with similar accusations.
Originally rejecting bipartisan calls for his resignation, Cuomo predicted that the investigation he authorized by state Attorney General Letitia James would exonerate him.
It did the opposite.
According to the 165-page report, nine state employees and two other women said Cuomo had harassed them, with some citing unwelcome touching, kissing and groping.
An executive assistant said Cuomo grabbed her under her shirt. A state trooper reported being fondled. Others spoke of similar offenses.
The overall evidence pointed to “unwelcome and nonconsensual touching, as well as making numerous offensive comments of a suggestive and sexual nature that created a hostile work environment for women," the report alleged.
"I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances," Cuomo initially said in response.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers began to assemble impeachment proceedings.
More damning, perhaps, was confirmation from law enforcement officials that criminal charges might be considered.
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