Eric Adams held his weekly off-topic press conference today under the central cupola of City Hall. The mayor approached the podium, once again flanked by signs touting his accomplishments, which this week were all about the reduction in crime on the subway. Indeed, Adams focused his opening remarks on this topic, reiterating his talking point from last week that New York City is the “safest big city in America,” and that the goal was to make it the “safest city in America” full stop.
The mayor then moved on to announcing the appointment of Chauncey Parker as Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, an office previously held by Phil Banks, who resigned after having his home raided and his phone seized by federal authorities last month, as part of a corruption investigation into the mayor’s office. A 40-year veteran of the NYPD, Parker stated that he was “excited and grateful” for the opportunity, and went on to highlight successful law enforcement “projects” undertaken by the Adams administration. The mayor also appointed Mona Suazo to Parker’s former position as assistant Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, saying that she was well-known as someone who could be relied on to “GSD – get stuff done.”
With 7 high-profile departures from City Hall in just the past month – including the mayor’s First Deputy, the schools Chancellor, and the police commissioner – many across the New York media landscape have started asking the question of whether the mayor might have trouble filling these positions, concerns which Adams has continued to brush off by insisting that the “bench is deep,” and that there were nine candidates for the job given to Parker.
Reporters’ questions mostly centered around two topics in the news right now. First was the mayor’s campaign finance statement released yesterday, which showed on the one hand that his donations will be maxed out according to New York law for the primary season when the city’s 8-to-1 funds-matching program is accounted for, but on the other hand, he had only received one donation since the indictments against him dropped a few weeks ago. There also remains the concern of whether he will receive those matching funds, as the Campaign Finance Board of the city has already indicated that it will consider the federal allegations of illegal donations to Adams’ campaign before awarding them, which could reduce his haul by millions of dollars.
Asked by La Voce if he could put to bed any concerns that his supporters may have that his campaign might not receive those matching funds, the mayor got playful: “none of my supporters called me and asked me – unless you’re a supporter?” He then directed the press corps to contact the campaign’s lawyer, Vito Pitta. On top of the legal work he does for Adams’ campaign, Pitta also coordinates the legal defense fund that is meant to cover expenses arising from the federal charges against Adams.
When other reporters remarked that Pitta was not responding to questions, Adams returned to the semaphoric cadence and phrasing he goes to in these circumstances: “my personal case is Alex (Spiro, representing him for the federal indictment). My campaign case is Vito Pitta. What the southern district or any investigations are doing, speak with them. Running the city of New York? Eric Adams.” He went on to justify the tight-lipped Pitta, saying he was “probably inundated” with inquiries on top of running his law practice. Asked whether he would support a civil inquiry into the city government to put people’s minds at ease about concerns of corruption, the mayor refused, stating that “restoring trust is in the job done.”
The other topic that attracted numerous questions was that of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ chief advisor, whose home was raided by the FBI. Authorities also seized her phone, as well as those of four other individuals with her after they touched down in JFK from a vacation to Japan. Traveling with Lewis-Martin were Jesse Hamilton, a lawyer contracted by the city to manage its real estate holdings through the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), as well as Diana Boutross, a VP at the real estate services firm Cushman and Wakefield who oversees contracts with the department where Hamilton works.
The apparent coziness between city officials and private actors with business before them has reasonably raised questions of impropriety, but according to Adams’ statements today, he’s in the dark. Asked if he knew about the trip to Japan, the mayor stated that he doesn’t “get involved in the personal lives” of his staffers, and that he was not aware of it beforehand. In regards to the possibility that city funds were spent on the trip, Adams stated that he knew “nothing to confirm or deny that,” but clarified that it was not a “city-sponsored trip.” When questioned about the precise nature of Jesse Hamilton’s role in assisting DCAS, the mayor told reporters to take it up with that department.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin is one of Eric Adams’ oldest political allies and may be one of his oldest friends in general, as the two have known each other since 1984, when he was a transit cop and she was a middle school teacher. She has been with Adams throughout his political career, having worked on his state senate campaign in 2006, and later served as his Deputy when he was Brooklyn Borough President. In a statement to the Daily News after her home was raided by the FBI, Lewis-Martin’s attorney stated that she is “not the target of any case of which we are aware.”
