Mayor Adams also fielded questions Thursday about whether another controversial hire to his administration, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, fired a top cop who led an internal probe into Banks several years ago.īanks, like brother Bernard, is poised to play an important role in the coming months for the mayor. I think it’s an amazing entity in our government.”īernard Adams was at City Hall on Thursday and told the Daily News he was planning to walk with his brother to an early afternoon press conference, but ultimately he did not make the stroll. And so instead of us trying to say what we feel this way or that way, it is C.O.I.B. will determine,” Adams said, drawing out the initials of the acronym in what appeared to be a peevish response to a reporter pointing out the salary issue. When asked about the rules barring city politicians from hiring family members, Adams pointed to “others” who have hired immediate family members in the past - possibly a reference to his predecessor Mayor Bill de Blasio, who hired his wife to run ThriveNYC and Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who appointed his sister as the city’s liaison to the United Nations. When asked if Adams might appeal COIB’s decision if he doesn’t agree with it, his spokesman Max Young declined to say. The New York Daily News has made repeated requests to see the administration’s application, but so far it has not received a response. The conflicts board does allow elected officials to apply for a waiver to such prohibitions though, and according to administration officials, Adams has done that. On Thursday, the mayor said his legal counsel Brendan McGuire has reviewed the situation and has “made it clear” to him that the administration is following Conflicts of Interest Board rules - even though the City Charter prohibits elected officials from providing any form of financial gain to relatives. The prospect of Bernard Adams occupying either post has raised alarm bells among good-government advocates and ethics experts who have likened such an appointment to a textbook definition of nepotism.īernard Adams (left) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (New York Daily News)
The deputy commissioner post pays $240,000 a year, and the security director pays $210,000 annually. Last week, Adams named his younger sibling Bernard Adams as a deputy New York Police Department commissioner - but switched gears this week when City Hall officials said Bernard would serve in a lower-ranking, but arguably equally sensitive role - as the head of the mayor’s security detail.īoth jobs come with hefty salaries. He’s the best person for the uniqueness of.
“When it comes down to my brother, I’ve said this over and over again: I trust my brother.
“Whatever determination they make, I will follow COIB,” he said. NEW YORK - Is he his brother’s keeper, or what?ĭays after New York City Mayor Eric Adams sparked a wave of criticism for naming his brother to a top NYPD job, the mayor said Thursday he would defer to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board on whether his sibling gets to keep the post.Īdams, who appeared at an afternoon press briefing in lower Manhattan, was asked if he’d in effect fire his brother if the board deems it the appropriate course of action - and he appeared to indicate he would.
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