Mayor candidate Scott Stringer said the sexual assault allegations that have rocked his campaign are taking their toll on his family. 

“This has been a tough week for me,” Stringer told NY1. “I feel it, my wife feels it, my family.”

“I think we’ll come back and the city will come back and that’s what I’ve dedicated my life to,” he added. 

Stringer is facing sexual harassment allegations from Jean Kim, who claims he groped and kissed her without consent during her time as an intern for his 2001 campaign for public advocate. 

She said at that time he offered to make her a neighborhood Democratic party leader if she proved her loyalty to him. She has remained close to politics and is now a lobbyist.

But Stringer said the allegations are simply not true, starting with the fact that Kim was never an intern. He said she was 30 years old at the time and volunteered at the local Democratic club.

“She was never paid by my campaign, she was a campaign contributor to my campaign. Interns don’t donate money, adults do,” Stringer said. 

Nonetheless, Stringer said that “whether it’s Kim or anybody else, we must ensure that women are heard, even when it’s inconvenient to a man.”

Stringer has lost several key endorsements over the last several days, but he said he won’t drop out of the race for mayor

“Only when the voters decide. If they don’t elect me, I guess I’m out,” he said. 

Stringer said he will focus on bringing back the economy, investing money in hardest hit communities, building low-income housing and leading an honest and ethical mayoral administration.

Through his small business survival plan, he will put $1 billion in stimulus money in the hands of small business owners. 

About 900,000 jobs were lost in the pandemic, and the city is still down 600,000, Stringer said.

He also plans to revamp public safety efforts by reinvesting in mentorship and cure violence programs. He said he wants to stop the overpolicing of young men and women of color.

Stringer also said he wants to change the 911 system so police officers aren’t the first responders for mental health and quality of life issues. 

“They don’t call 311 like they do 911,” he said. 

Stringer joined “Mornings On 1” Tuesday as part of NY1’s ongoing series of interviews with leading candidates for mayor.