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Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Mayor Eric Adams' Administration Falls Apart Under Federal Corruption Charges

 

VIDEO of Resignation of Philip Banks

Story by Chris Sommerfeldt and Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News

NEW YORK — Four more aides to Mayor Adams have left his administration in the past week — a dramatic set of City Hall departures that comes on the heels of multiple other high-level resignations and the mayor’s indictment on federal corruption charges, sources told the Daily News on Monday.

Among those leaving are two longtime aides ensnared in federal probes: Rana Abbasova, the director of protocol in Adams’ International Affairs Office, was fired Monday, and Winnie Greco, the mayor’s liaison to local Chinese communities, has resigned, the sources said.

Greco was called in on Friday and told to resign, sources familiar with the matter said. Greco, who has worked for Adams in both governmental and political capacities since his tenure as Brooklyn borough president, was spotted at City Hall that day, at one point appearing comforted by Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ embattled chief adviser. Their heads were lowered and Lewis-Martin rested a hand on Greco’s shoulder as they left the building.

Like Greco, Mohamed Bahi, senior Muslim liaison to the mayor, resigned from his post effective Monday, a source close to the matter said. And Ahsan Chughtai, a senior mayoral adviser for South Asian and Muslim affairs, was fired on Sept. 30, multiple sources said.

“Both Winnie Greco and Mohamed Bahi today tendered their resignations. We thank them for their service to the city,” Fabien Levy, a spokesman for Adams, said late Monday.

Levy would not divulge a reason for the firings of Abbasova and Chughtai, who has also worked on political efforts for the mayor. Levy didn’t elaborate on why Bahi and Greco resigned, either.

Abbasova was placed on unpaid leave after the feds raided her home last year in connection with the probe scrutinizing whether Adams accepted and solicited bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish government operatives in exchange for political favors.

Prosecutors say Abbasova, who is not named in the mayor’s five-count criminal indictment, coordinated with Turkish officials to set up straw donations and travel upgrades for Adams. She is cooperating with federal authorities and is considered a key witness against Adams, The News previously reported.

Abbasova’s firing comes after prosecutors turned over evidence Adams’ lawyers said could be used to discredit her. Alex Spiro, Adams’ lawyer, had said previously that a staffer was “lying,” referring to Abbasova.

“These prosecutors, finally, after much delay and misdirection, have admitted they were hiding Brady material about the key witness in the case that proves Mayor Adams is innocent,” Spiro said in a statement.

Adams, who was indicted in the case late last month, has pleaded not guilty to charges of bribery, fraud, conspiracy and soliciting political contributions from foreigners.

Rachel Maimin, Abbasova’s attorney, declined to comment.

Greco’s Pelham Bay homes were raided in February. On the same day, the feds also raided the New World Mall in Queens — where Greco helped host lucrative fundraisers for Adams’ 2021 campaign that generated some illegal straw donations, as reported by the news outlet The City.

The full scope of the Greco probe remains unclear, though investigators are known to also be looking at trips she has taken to China with the mayor funded in part by the country’s Communist government.

Greco returned to her post as Asian affairs director in May after being placed on paid leave following the FBI raids on her properties.

Chughtai has been an influential Adams campaign surrogate in the city’s Pakistani communities, and he also donated $1,000 to the mayor’s reelection campaign in June 2023, records show. He didn’t return a request for comment late Monday, and neither did Bahi.

Word of the latest City Hall shakeup came just hours after news broke early Monday that Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks resigned over the weekend.

He is one of five top Adams advisers who had their homes raided and electronics seized on Sept. 4 as part of several federal corruption investigations.

Schools Chancellor David Banks, senior Adams adviser Tim Pearson and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, who were all raided that day, too, had already announced their resignations prior to Deputy Mayor Banks’ exit. First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, the fifth adviser raided on Sept. 4, was initially expected to resign this past Friday, but has yet to formally step down.

Betsy Combier
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Tuesday, October 11, 2022

Mayor Adams and Chancellor Banks Get Their Girlfriends Onto the City Payroll

Sheena Wright with her man, Chancellor David Banks

 and then there's Tracy Collins with her man:


Wow. I think every parent and schools watcher like me is shocked with the story posted below.

We all remember getting a little befuzzled (my word) about former Mayor Bill de Blasio giving his wife more than $1 Billion to spend on Thrive NYC?

Where did all that money go? Who got the money? I don't know. Do you? Does anyone?

This is the trouble with NYC government. Too much money, too little accountability, too few whistleblowers.

Did anyone check with the Conflict of Interest Board?

Betsy Combier, Editor
NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, Eric Adams put each other’s girlfriends in top posts
By 
, NY POST October 8, 2022







Schools Chancellor David Banks quietly promoted Mayor Adams’ girlfriend to a top job at the Department of Education, just months after Adams hired Banks’ girlfriend as a deputy mayor, The Post has learned.

Banks named Tracey Collins — Adams’ longtime partner and NYC’s unofficial First Lady — the DOE’s “senior advisor to the deputy chancellor of school leadership,” Desmond Blackburn. She started the new job in July, and got a giant, 23% raise to $221,597 a year, records show.

Hizzoner named Banks’ girlfriend, Sheena Wright, and four other women deputy mayors last Dec. 21. Deputy mayors made $251,982 in FY 21.

Both women’s advancement underscores the tight inner circle of the Adams administration.

Wright, 52, previously CEO of United Way of NYC, helped lead Adams’ transition team. Banks and Wright live together in Harlem. Banks and Adams took office on Jan. 1.

David Bloomfield, a Brooklyn College and CUNY Grad Center education professor, said, “It’s not only a bad look, smacking of favoritism and cronyism. It displays a degree of insularity and groupthink that’s adverse to organizational effectiveness.”

DOE spokesman Nathaniel Styer said Collins, “a veteran educator with 30 years of experience,” replaced another senior advisor, Mariano Guzman, who retired.

Styer said Collins “went through a rigorous process that did not include City Hall’s oversight.

“She was by far the most qualified of all applicants for the position, which is why she was the only finalist presented to the chancellor,” Styer added. He could not say how many applied for the publicly posted position.

City Hall spokesman Fabien Levy said, “Mayor Adams was not involved in the hiring for this position and has a strict firewall when it comes to any matters involving her employment.”

Levy said the mayor also had the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, COIB, sign off on Adams and Collins working for the city simultaneously, since Adams is technically her boss.

“Mayor Adams has tasked his entire cabinet to pick the brightest and most adequate individuals to serve this city and he is proud of the team at the DOE and the work they are doing,” Levy said.

Collins, 59, now sits in a powerful spot. Her boss Blackburn, in a role created by Banks, oversees the school system’s 45 superintendents. He reports directly to the chancellor.

Collins has served as an obscure DOE educrat since 2008, lastly as “senior youth development director.” Previously, she worked as a principal and a teacher.

“She gets up at dawn to run the largest school system in the United States,” working 12 hours a day, Adams wrote in his 2020 diet book, “Healthy at Last: A Plant-based Approach to Preventing and Reversing Diabetes.”

“She never gets a break.”

Collins also wrote a 2007 inspirational book about acts of kindness, “Sweet Promptings.” Adams, then a state senator representing Brooklyn, wrote the introduction.

Collins kept a low profile during Adams’ mayoral campaign, but appeared with the mayor in May at the Met Gala, dazzling in a white Oscar de la Renta gown adorned with sequined leaf details at the shoulders.

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Sunday, April 3, 2022

The "Who Are You Kidding Award" Goes To Mayor Eric Adams

 


In 2002 I created the "Who Are You Kidding Award" for all politicians anywhere who say ridiculous things that are contrary to the truth (i.e. false, in my opinion). The first winner was Joel Klein, then Dennis Walcott and then Carmen Farina (twice!), Bill De Blasio, and the NYC Department of Education. Now, we are giving the Award to NYC Mayor Eric Adams.

Mayor Adams has made, in our opinion at Advocatz, at least two (if not hundreds of others) highly public decisions in the past few days that are irrational, political, and contrary to public policy and equity for all. Remember, he is paid by us, the citizens of this wonderful city (at least I live here, on the UES).

As I am in NYC, my 4 children all attended public schools and I am an advocate for parents and NYC Department of Education employees, I 'knew' Joel Klein, the Chancellor, and he 'knew' me, as an outspoken but always diplomatic person (at least I always try to remain professional). I and my dear late friend Polo Colon spoke to the PEP when Joel was there in 2007, and we continued to speak out against injustice at the NYC DOE for 10 years after that until Polo's death in 2017. I continued.

First, on March 24, 2022, Adams removed the Covid Mandate from performers and athletes, so Kyrie Irving could play basketball. This he did after 1400++ municipal workers were fired for not getting the COVID vaccine. He stated that those folk will not be re-hired any time soon, if ever.

Second mistake: on April 1, 2022, Adams got the Toddler Mask mandate re-instated a few hours after a Staten Island Judge ruled that this Mandate was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable. Adams said, "Every decision we make is with our children's health and safety in mind."

Not.

Parents in NYC do not want their little ones aged 2-4 to wear masks. Indeed, I have been told by several sources (thank you!!!) that these kids are not wearing their masks in class, anyway. No one is enforcing these little kids to keep their masks on, and there are no punishments for taking them off. Think about it. What happens when a 2-year old dares to challenge the mask mandate. Suspended? Told to sit in the hallway? not given lunch? Now that would make a great story! 

Even for this age group, mayor Adams had a mask policy, and parents sued to stop the practice. They won. See Goldenstein v New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Index No. 85057/2022. "The relief that I'm asking for in the lawsuit is not moot," attorney Michael Chessa told ABC News. 

On Friday,  Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio rescinded the requirement for the toddlers with immediate effect, declaring in a ruling that it could no longer be enforced due to its “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” nature:


But the NYC Law Department took offense at the ruling by Judge Porzio, and Appealed the Decision to the Appellate Division, Second Department, which immediately overturned Judge Porzio's Decision and re-instated the Toddler Mask Mandate.

So, this is why Eric Adams and his NYC Law Department wins the "Who Are You Kidding Award." Mayor Adams and his lawyers do not care what is best for the toddlers nor what their parents want. Who is he kidding? 

No one.



Mayor Adams prevails in court to keep NYC school mask rule for kids under 5
By  and 
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS 
APR 01, 2022  9:10 PM








The city’s youngest children must continue to wear face masks in school after an Appellate Division judge stepped in late Friday to uphold Mayor Adams’ mandate on the controversial issue — for now.

The order signed by Brooklyn-based appeals judge Paul Wooten capped a confusing set of legal developments that unfolded earlier in the day on the school mask mandate for kids younger than 5.

First, Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio rescinded the requirement for the toddlers with immediate effect, declaring in a ruling that it could no longer be enforced due to its “arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable” nature.

But Adams — who previously vowed to lift the mask rule for the youngsters next week barring a COVID-19 spike — immediately appealed Porzio’s ruling. Adams cited a recent uptick in infections in the city driven by the highly contagious BA.2 omicron subvariant of the virus.

“I will continue to say to parents: You should keep your mask on your children,” Adams told reporters in a briefing at City Hall.

Appeals Judge Wooten’s order trumps that of the Staten Island Judge, and allows Adams to keep the mandate in place temporarily as the case is litigated between the administration and a parent group opposed to masking young children. Wooten scheduled a hearing for April 11 on the matter.

“Every decision we make is with our children’s health and safety in mind,” Adams wrote on Twitter after Wooten issued the stay. “Children between 2 and 4 should continue to wear their masks in school and daycare come Monday.”

Staten Island judge strikes down NYC’s mask mandate for kids under five »

Adams initially hoped to scrap the mask mandate for kids under 5 this coming Monday — but the BA.2 variant of COVID has caused him and his health experts to reassess.

At a City Hall briefing earlier in the day, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan declined to give a new date for when the administration may again consider allowing the toddlers to go without masks, only saying that his team is “reassessing the data every single day.”

Adams’ move infuriated parents who have demanded for weeks that he roll back the toddler requirement.

“We have unvaxxed NBA superstars able to play unmasked at Barclays Center ... yet my 4-year-old has to wear a mask,” Queens resident Daniela Jampel said, referencing Adams’ controversial decision last week to exempt professional athletes and performers from the city’s coronavirus vaccine mandates.

Some studies have shown that kids under 5 are at risk of suffering socially and educationally from mandatory masking, while at the same time being at exceedingly low risk of developing severe symptoms if they catch COVID.

Abe Shampaner, the co-owner of the Learning Tree, a preschool in Queens, said he was dismayed by Adams’ decision to appeal Porzio’s ruling and questioned why the burden of mandatory masking should be placed on the city’s youngest residents.

“The kids are the least susceptible. Our concern is that they’re going to make them wear them indefinitely,” Shampaner said. “What is the point of the mask mandate (for toddlers) when you’re letting everyone go mask free?”

With coronavirus infections on the upswing, Adams and Vasan countered that it’s critical for kids under 5 to keep their masks on since federal regulators still haven’t cleared that age group to be vaccinated.

“We want to keep an eye on this latest uptick to ensure that our youngest New Yorkers remain safe as we see an increase in cases due to the more infectious BA.2 subvariant,” said Vasan, who warned that he expects cases “to continue to rise over the next few weeks.”

According to data from the State Health Department, the city’s average test positivity rate reached 2.01% on Thursday, far lower than where levels were during January’s omicron peak, but nonetheless an increase compared to just a few weeks ago.

Other parts of the state have fared way worse from BA.2.

The Central New York region’s average test positivity rate reached an alarming 9.35% on Thursday, the data show, and some public health experts are warning that the city should brace for the potential of a similar surge. Twelve people died from the virus statewide Thursday.

Declaring that it’s time to “prepare, not panic,” Adams said at City Hall that his administration will distribute 6.3 million free at-home tests at 2,500 locations across the city in the coming weeks.

He also took aim at Republicans in Congress for their reluctance to pass a $15 billion pandemic spending package aimed at ensuring adequate supplies of testing and vaccine across the U.S.

“The obstructionists in Washington, D.C., don’t really see how important this is,” Adams said.

Adams’ decision to keep the toddler mask mandate in place contrasts with his more laissez-faire attitude toward other public health precautions.

In early March, Adams scrapped the mask mandate for all school students older than 5. Around the same time, he rescinded the vaccine mandate for indoor activities like dining, drinking and exercising — opening the door for unvaccinated people to patronize bars, restaurants and gyms.

Last week, Adams also announced exemptions from the city’s private sector vaccine mandate for unvaccinated professional athletes and entertainers so that they can play sports and perform in the Big Apple again — a policy shift that drew intense backlash across the political spectrum.

Asked at Friday’s briefing how he justifies masking kids under 5 while letting unvaccinated athletes play sports, Adams demurred: “I listen to the advice of my doctors and this is what the doctors told me to do.”

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who for months refrained from directly criticizing the mayor, was among the chorus of critics who blasted his sports-boosting exemption last week, saying that it sent the “wrong” message as cases spike.

On Friday, the speaker announced she had tested positive for COVID — and urged New Yorkers to remember that the pandemic is not over.

“We will eventually overcome this pandemic,” the speaker wrote in a statement, “but in the meantime, I encourage everyone to remain vigilant and continue to take the necessary precautions.”
The city’s youngest children must continue to wear face masks in school after an Appellate Division judge stepped in late Friday to uphold Mayor Adams’ mandate on the controversial issue — for now.

The order signed by Brooklyn-based appeals judge Paul Wooten capped a confusing set of legal developments that unfolded earlier in the day on the school mask mandate for kids younger than 5.
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Friday, July 15, 2022

Mayor Eric Adams Plays a Joke on New York

 re-posted from NYC Public Voice:


Mayor Eric Adams and Phil Banks, his deputy mayor for public safety, nestled their offices within 375 Pearl St., commonly known as the Verizon Building (center). | Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Are New Yorkers getting the joke made by Eric Adams when he plays "Mayor"? I guess some do because we see it every day on TV, social media, and in the newspapers. Eric Adams is not serious about his position as the chief politician of the City of New York and certainly does not belong as the CEO of the NYC Department of Education (NYC has Mayoral control of the NYC DOE).

See my Who Are You Kidding Award.

He says he is fixing or will fix the rising deadly crime rate in New York City. Good. But what is he waiting for? How many innocent victims have to die for him to take action? We do not know.


He implements a so-called "safety" protocol where he fires thousands of city workers (policemen and women, fire professionals, educators) because they are not vaccinated and will not allow any exemptions (don't be fooled by a scam hearing where an arbitrator decides the outcome/denial before the hearing starts).

And he allows his friend and colleague Chancellor David Banks to take 55 DOE employees to a nice hotel in Orlando Florida for some fun - oops, I mean work - learning STEM techniques. Because we don't have any programs like that in NYC.

Recall of elected officials is not permitted in New York, but I'd vote for any legislation that would bring a recall option to NYC.


Get Adams a spot on SNL, or give him a comedy show to star in. Anything but a position in political office, where he has access to public funds and may represent people who are serious about helping NYC be a better place to live and work.


I'm sure that New Yorkers will be holding Eric Adams and his willing partners - Chancellor Banks is one - accountable for their actions. This calls for an Award from my Foundation:

We do that.

 Betsy Combier

by Susan Edelman and Cayla Bamberger, NY POST, July 16, 2022

The Department of Education sent 55 staffers, including Chancellor David Banks, to a four-day conference on STEM education at a swanky hotel near Universal Studios in Orlando last week — even as its schools are facing devastating budget cuts.



The Department of Education says some of the costs of its Florida trip will be covered by a grant.
Twitter / STEM Leadership Alliance

The DOE said it expects to pay about $50,000 to cover “travel and other expenses,” but the final price tag to taxpayers won’t be clear until the staffers file for reimbursement.

Conference organizers said New York City and other school districts purchased $2,750 memberships in the Global STEM Leadership Alliance. That covered participation in the summit Sunday to Thursday, an “extremely discounted” rate of $259-a-night at the 4-star Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, breakfast and lunch, as well as webinars and professional development year-round.

That cost would total a maximum $151,250 for all 55 city attendees. Some expenses were covered by a grant, according to the DOE, which would not specify how much.

“So while the plebes subsist on bread and water, our DOE colleagues enjoy the best the Loews has to offer,” a school administrator in New York griped.

Kelli List Wells, executive director of the STEM Leadership Alliance, said Orlando has been the site of the conference, which attracts educators in other states and around the world, since 2004. “It’s the most cost-efficient place to do it,” she said.

The 55 DOE employees, most from schools in the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, were among 175 attendees at the summit, List Wells said.

Banks, four district superintendents, and more than a dozen administrators and teachers spoke at the event, which focused on teaching science, technology, engineering and math.

The Loews Portofino Bay resort, a 15-minute stroll to the Universal Studios theme park, boasts a spa for massages, body treatments, and facials; three outdoor swimming pools, including a poolside bar and water slide; a sauna; and four restaurants and two lounges.

On Sunday night, Banks headlined a pre-conference “Member Only Reception” hosted by DOE vendor Sussman Education, a group of New York publishers and EdTech providers, with a musical performance by Joya Bravo, the agenda shows.


District 4 Superintendent Dr. Kristy De La Cruz (far right) posts a selfie with fellow DOE staffers.
Twitter / STEM Leadership Alliance


“It sounds like it was a party for them — more of a social thing than a professional thing,” said a Brooklyn principal who did not attend.

List Wells said the educators spent long days and evenings collaborating on ways to integrate science in all grade levels and subjects. The conference, which featured speakers from NASA, focused on teaching about the construction of habitat on the moon, among other topics, she said.

The jaunt came as turmoil over hundreds of millions of dollars slashed from school budgets reached a fever pitch. Advocates heckled Mayor Eric Adams at a public safety event on Monday, leaving him without his chancellor to answer for the cuts that the City Council adopted, then denounced. Adams blamed a city funding formula on Albany.

The $259-a-night hotel rate exceeds the $129-per-day limit that the city places on lodging on trips, following federal guidelines for Orlando. DOE officials had no comment on the discrepancy.

“We will not apologize for educators attending professional development sessions their principals, and school leaders deem valuable,” said DOE spokeswoman Jenna Lyle.

“We want our teachers to develop a tool belt of best practices from innovative educators across the country and bring those skills back to our schools,” she said.

Other DOE staffers felt differently.

“Stay at a Motel 6 or something,” said a Manhattan middle school teacher who last month was “excessed,” or let go from the former school due to fewer students enrolled.

“At a time where we’re cutting resources for students to get STEM education, to do science experiments and take field trips, this money is going toward adults,” she added. “Money should always be going toward student experiences in the classroom and outside of the classroom — not toward adults off on vacation.”

The DOE said that principals, who control how they spend their own school budgets, can send their staffers to training conferences. Officials would not say if staffers were on salary for the conference.

Free airfare to Orlando was provided by Southwest Airlines, officials said.

Some costs were covered by a grant from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for schools in Upper Manhattan’s District 6, which has a multi-year partnership with the NAACP focused on STEM education, the DOE added, without specifying the sum. NAACP President Hazel Dukes attended the event.

“New York City public schools are national leaders in innovative STEM education, and we are proud that Chancellor Banks had the opportunity to share our successes with educators from across the country,” said Lyle.


ERIC ADAMS HAS A SECRET OFFICE

The yet-unreported workspace is the latest example of the fledgling mayor fiercely guarding his privacy as he acclimates to one of the most public political jobs in America.


By SALLY GOLDENBERG, POLITICO

Updated: 


NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams and a top deputy have outfitted offices in a highly secure tower near the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge, availing themselves of a private hideout with sweeping skyline views that’s both minutes and worlds away from the bustle of City Hall.

The yet-unreported workspace is the latest example of the fledgling mayor fiercely guarding his privacy as he acclimates to one of the most public political jobs in America.

Adams and Phil Banks, his deputy mayor for public safety, nestled their offices within 375 Pearl St., a 32-story structure commonly known as the Verizon Building that declares itself “the most secure and resilient building in Manhattan,” according to interviews with 15 people who work in and around city government and are aware of the arrangement. The setup offers them what City Hall cannot: A covert space away from the prying eyes of City Council members, reporters and employees who work in the building and can spot much of the activity within.

The mayor already has a private office in City Hall, as do deputy mayors and a few top staffers. Most other employees either work in the “bullpen,” an open space that Mike Bloomberg instituted after becoming mayor 20 years ago, or offices in the basement.

And while City Hall is open to the public, visitors must enter through a metal detector at an exterior gate and are often asked by the NYPD to provide a rationale for their attendance.

Banks and Adams decided shortly after taking office in January to set up shop in the private building, where the NYPD, Human Resources Administration and finance and sanitation agencies lease space. The mayor occasionally occupies an executive office and conference room previously allotted to the city Department of Finance on the 30th floor of the 300,000-square-foot building.

The tower boasts panoramic views of Manhattan, the New York Harbor and the city’s East River bridges that put landlocked City Hall’s vista to shame.

“I love the water,” Adams said in January about the East River-adjacent mayoral home Gracie Mansion. “You take the water views away, I wouldn’t be in there.”

A spokesperson said he has only been to the site “less than a handful of times” and emphasized its proximity to 1 Police Plaza, given Adams’ focus on reducing crime. The aide did not answer questions about whether the space was renovated once Adams took office and which other staffers have shown up there, but said no one outside city government works from the building.

Those familiar with the arrangement, all of whom would only speak on the condition of anonymity, said the Pearl Street address is Banks’ primary workspace, while Adams occasionally seeks respite there — though his trips to the clandestine office have never appeared on his public schedule.

The secret sanctum also gives Adams and Banks closer access to the NYPD.

The building, which is owned by Sabey Data Center Properties, also has a parking garage, and its website boasts of “controlled street and loading dock access.” The arrangement allows the mayor to slip in unnoticed and head directly to his office, which has floor-to-ceiling windows providing expansive city views.

“It’s hidden away; cars can’t roll through here,” said one person who works in City Hall. Others remarked on his penchant for privacy, which became a flashpoint in the mayoral campaign last year as POLITICO and other outlets dug up details on his unconventional living situation.

Political activity, such as fundraising, is not allowed to take place in government offices, so it’s not uncommon for mayors to seek space away from City Hall to conduct that type of work. In his early days as mayor, Bill de Blasio occasionally carried out political affairs in the offices of his former consulting firm, BerlinRosen.

De Blasio was also known to call donors from his favorite haunt, Brooklyn’s Bar Toto, and often ordered staff to Gracie Mansion, the official residence offered to city mayors, for planning meetings. Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani at times conducted private government talks in a basement office of City Hall, according to one former administration official. And Bloomberg, a multibillionaire who maintained his own residence as mayor, had ample options for working elsewhere.

But mayors do not typically carve out off-site offices for official business, and Adams already has a stable of venues for politicking, including high-end bars and restaurants where he regularly meets with friends, donors and people who have business interests before his administration.

The Pearl Street edifice, which bears a red and black Verizon logo on its exterior, was built for the New York Telephone Company in 1975. It underwent a renovation in 2016, and its website now describes it as a posh, modern space with premium security.

“Flexible floor plate with endless potential. Unparalleled light and views in all directions. Power for any task,” the site reads. It ends the description inviting potential tenants to “step into the machine. Take control.”

Ironically, when asked on Sunday what he would change about working in City Hall, Adams suggested even closer quarters with the dedicated press corps that operates out of the public building’s “Room 9.” He reasoned that more visibility into his administration might yield better coverage of his achievements on crime-fighting, summer jobs for teens and screening students for dyslexia.

“So I think that if there’s one thing I would change, I would move Room 9 closer to my office,” he said, “so they can see how we’re doing some good stuff.”

On Wednesday, Adams said he had the “brilliant smart idea” of outfitting the office with cubicles for city staffers. He told reporters he’d been there no more than four times and bristled at reporting on his use of the highly secure, private building.

“How can a city location be an undisclosed location?” he said. “That’s just not making any sense.”

Georgia Rosenberg and Julian Shen-Berro contributed to this report.



From tweaked tax returns to ethics advice given to top officials, the current mayor is breaking from predecessors’ practice of releasing records — and from his own promises to be open with New Yorkers.

BY GREG B. SMITH AND YOAV GONEN
APR 20, 2022, 7:56PM EDT

Mayor Eric Adams has declared “there is nothing more important” to him than transparency, but when it comes to thorny issues like his personal taxes or potential conflicts of interest within his administration, his record to date is cloudy.

Last year THE CITY noted that tax forms he’d filed with the IRS in prior years raised questions about whether he’d improperly written off repairs to his personal apartment. In response, he promised to file amended forms and make them public to clear the air.

To date he’s provided no evidence that he did that.

Then THE CITY discovered he’d failed to file the required gift tax form over a co-op he claimed he’d “gifted” years ago to a friend. Again he vowed all the required paperwork would be mailed out to the IRS pronto and disclosed to New Yorkers.

Again he’s released no proof that he did what he promised to do.

On Tuesday, after initially saying he would not make his tax returns public — even though mayors have done so for decades — Adams promised to release “tax information.” He gave no date for doing so and declined to describe what “information” he planned to release.

Then there’s Adams’ refusal to make public advice the city Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) has given his top appointees on potential conflicts they face as city employees.

Incoming staff often request advice so they can avoid ethical pitfalls involving prior employers or other relationships. Adams’ predecessor, Bill de Blasio, for the most part publicly disclosed conflict-of-interest advice letters sent to his top staff.

Adams, in contrast, refuses to do that, insisting that advice about potential conflicts among top staff is private.

De Blasio also routinely updated a published weekly schedule of his meetings with lobbyists, a protocol he implemented after criticism grew regarding his interactions with lobbyists who represented donors to a controversial nonprofit he once controlled, the Campaign for One New York.

As reported last month by PoliticoNY, Adams has said he has no intention of posting any such list. To date he has not explained why.

John Kaehny, director of the non-partisan government ethics group Reinvent Albany, said Tuesday Adams should release his tax forms and disclose any Conflicts of Interest Board letters of advice sent to his top appointees to assure the public that their interests are being properly represented by City Hall.

“I’ve never heard that a person running for mayor or governor doesn’t say they’ll be the most transparent ever,” he said. “Overall the top elected officials have to be way more transparent about their finances than the average person does because they have so much power. That’s part of the trade-off: you get a lot of power, you have to have a lot of disclosure.”

‘Free Speech and Transparency’ Order

Before he arrived at City Hall, Adams spelled out his promised commitment to public disclosure repeatedly. When he announced the appointment of Brendan McGuire in December as his counsel, for example, he tweeted, “There is nothing more important to me than accountability, transparency and effective governance.”

A month into his tenure, Adams signed Executive Order 6 entitled “Protecting and Facilitating Free Speech and Transparency.” Among other things, the order enshrined the concept of full public disclosure and stated, “A free society is best maintained when the public is aware of and has access to government actions and documents, and the more open a government is with its people, the greater the understanding and participation of the public in government.”

Disclosure of personal tax forms is not required, but mayors dating back at least to Ed Koch have made them public, albeit to differing degrees. Mike Bloomberg, for instance, who was mayor but also a billionaire, heavily redacted the forms he released to the press. The point was to allow the public to get a clear picture of their mayor and his or her personal financial interests and pressures.

In Adams’ case, past history indicates he has filed forms that raise more questions than answers.

Adams’ tax-related questions center on the income he receives and the expenses he makes as the owner of two Brooklyn properties. He owns a townhouse on Lafayette Avenue and, in years past, co-owned a unit in a co-op on Prospect Place.

Last year, Adams promised to amend his filings over questions of whether he improperly wrote off repairs for his own residence he claimed in the Lafayette Avenue townhouse.

As THE CITY reported at the time, on forms he filed with the IRS from 2017 through 2019, Adams claimed he lived zero days at the address. To the public, he claimed he’d been living there the whole time.

The filings appear to show that he wrote off repairs to the entire building — including improperly writing off fix-ups of the apartment where he told the public he was living. He blamed his accountant, and promised to update the IRS. As of Wednesday, Adams had yet to produce documentation of such a filing.

THE CITY also raised questions about his co-ownership of a Brooklyn co-op that he wasn’t documenting on the annual financial disclosure forms he was required to file as a state senator and then as Brooklyn Borough President.

Confronted about this, he claimed he’d actually given away his shares of the co-op to the woman with whom he owned it. He provided a one-page letter dated Feb. 9, 2007, as documentation of this, but THE CITY found records indicating he was still listed as a co-owner well into 2021.

If he in fact gifted the property to his friend, he would be required to file a gift tax form — but he admitted that he did not. After THE CITY identified the omission, he promised to amend his prior forms, but as of Wednesday he had yet to produce documentation that he had done so.

On Friday, Adams said “no” when asked if he’d commit to releasing his most recent tax forms for 2021. On Tuesday he reversed course somewhat, saying he now planned to release unspecified “tax information” at a non-specific time in the future. He would not say if that would include his actual tax forms.

Mayoral spokesperson Fabian Levy did not respond to THE CITY’s request to see documentation of Adams’ promised amendment clarifying the apartment repair write-offs in prior years and a gift tax filing regarding the co-op. Levy told the New York Times that the mayor requested an extension on his 2021 filing last week as he was quarantining with COVID. That gives him months to release whatever “tax information” he plans to release.

Norman Siegel, a veteran civil rights attorney and longtime advisor to Adams, said the mayor should provide the requested documentation on prior year filings, stating, “If any elected official says they’re going to provide an amended complaint or form, you need to hold them accountable for that.”

Siegel was at Adams’ side when the mayor announced his free speech executive order.

He added that he was optimistic regarding the mayor’s promise to release “tax information” about his latest filing. “I’m in favor of transparency,” Siegel stated. “I’m hoping that Mayor Adams provides the tax information consistent with prior mayors. It does now appear that he’s moving in that direction. That’s positive.”
Refusal to Release Records

Another key issue is Adams’ refusal to disclose the advice letters the Conflict of Interest Board (COIB) has provided to members of his cabinet to guide them on how to avoid conflicts — a refusal that reverses the policy of his predecessor, de Blasio.

When de Blasio first arrived at City Hall in January 2014, he made public a COIB letter advising his newly appointed deputy mayor for housing, Alicia Glen, who had left a job at Goldman Sachs where she’d made investments in affordable housing projects. He also released a COIB letter for his new Housing Commissioner Vicki Been, who had previously run a real estate think tank at New York University called the Furman Center.

And de Blasio selectively released advice letters he himself received from COIB over two issues: His solicitation of money from entities doing business with City Hall for his non-profit, Campaign for One New York, and whether he had to reimburse the taxpayers for his use of an NYPD police detail during his brief and unsuccessful run for president.

When THE CITY requested the same kind of COIB advice letters for Adams’ top level appointees, the mayor refused to turn them over. The City Hall legal team argued that they were protected from disclosure under the lawyer-client privilege, and were exempt from release under the Freedom of Information Law as inter-agency communications.

Last week, THE CITY appealed that rejection and awaits City Hall’s response.

Recipients of these letters are free to release them if they choose. One of Adams’ top appointees, Department of Investigation Commissioner Jocelyn Strauber, provided THE CITY with a copy of her own without hesitation.

The letter advised that her membership on the board of a nonprofit called Publicolor, which has pending contracts with the city Department of Education, could present potential conflicts.

During a February City Council hearing on her confirmation, Strauber said she planned to resign from that position, stating, “I want to be very clear in my views on this. I have resigned from or committed to resign from the Publicolor...board in light of initial indications from the Conflicts of Interest Board that that’s a complicated situation to manage given the many touchpoints with the city.”

The COIB letter also made clear to her that she did not have to resign from the board of a private school, but in the interests of eliminating all appearance of potential conflict, she decided to step down from the position, too.
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