NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams has defended the hiring of his brother Bernard Adams to serve as executive director of Mayoral Security.
“My life, I want in the hands of my brother,” Mayor Adams said Sunday.
New York City mayors are required by law to get a waiver from the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board before hiring a relative.
Former COIB Chair Richard Briffault told PIX11 News that the hiring of Bernard Adams “on its face, it seems inconsistent with city law.”
City Hall is now in the process of seeking a waiver from the Conflicts of Interest.
“The argument has to be that the appointment is consistent with the best interest of the city,” Briffault explained.
Mayor Adams has insisted his brother is qualified as a 20-year veteran of the NYPD.
“He also has a personal experience,” the mayor said. “He knows his brother and he’s going to keep his brothers safe.”
Bernard Adams isn’t the only controversial hire by the Adams administration. Philip Banks III is the new deputy mayor of Public Safety. Banks resigned from the NYPD in 2014.
“Deputy Mayor Phil Banks was considered an unindicted coconspirator in a federal bribery case just a few years back again, never charged with the crime, but certainly a black mark on his on his record,” City & State Senior Reporter Jeff Coltin said.
Mayor Adams stood by the hire.
“Phil is the best person for this job. When Phil was chief of the department, he brought down crime and he did something else. He reigned in the abuse of stop question and frisk,” Adams said. during a press briefing Sunday.
