Who is Bernard Adams? Eric Adams to hire brother for security role at salary of $1 a year
Amidst talk of favoritism, NYC's Conflict of Interest Board ruled that Mayor Eric Adams can hire his brother Bernard Adams for the role of senior security adviser, but only for $1 a year as compensation in an ethics hearing on Thursday, January 27.
Initially, NYC's Mayor Eric Adams wanted to hire his younger brother, Bernard Adams as a deputy police commissioner for an annual salary of $240,000. But after facing accusations of nepotism, Eric decided to hire his brother to be the security adviser for a yearly salary of $210,000. The 61-year-old mayor then asked for guidance from the New York City Conflicts of Interest Board. The ruling by the ethics committee announced that instead of overseeing the mayor’s security detail, Bernard Adams would be a senior adviser to the mayor with no supervisory role after an ethics board ruling.
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The new terms of employment that were agreed upon are, "Instead of earning $210,000 a year, he will earn $1; instead of serving as the 'executive director of mayoral security' within the confines of the New York Police Department, he will instead serve as a 'senior adviser for mayoral security' within the office of the mayor. No city personnel will be allowed to report to him. Nor can he have any 'command authority' at the Police Department," reports the New York Times.
"Bernard Adams is uniquely qualified for this job, and in order to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, he offered to serve for the nominal salary of $1. We made this proposal to the Conflicts of Interest Board and they've agreed, and we’re grateful to Bernard for being willing to serve the city for no salary," said the mayor's spokesperson, Maxwell Young.
The official statement read, "A number of factors weigh in favor of granting the requested waiver. First, the Mayor has determined that Bernard Adams's service as Senior Advisor for Mayoral Security will enhance the security of the Mayor and his family. Second, the position will be effectively uncompensated, as Bernard Adams will receive only one dollar per year in compensation, and this compensation is for the sole purpose of making Bernard Adams a City employee. Third, Bernard Adams will be subject to the same integrity safeguards as other public servants, including, among other things the requirements and obligations of the City's conflicts of interest law and annual disclosure law. Fourth, the proposed role is advisory and does not involve the supervision of public servants or any command authority over NYPD personnel. Fifth, Mayor Adams has committed to recuse himself from decisions regarding the terms of Bernard Adams's employment with the City."
Eric had previously defended his decision to appoint his brother despite the nepotism accusations. "My brother is qualified for the position. Number one, he will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me at a time when we see an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes," he told CNN in an interview before the ethics hearing happened.
Who is Bernard Adams?
Bernard Adams is Eric Adams' younger brother. He pursued a Bachelor of Science with a specialization in Criminal Justice and Political Science from John Jay College, Manhattan. The 51-year-old has previously worked as a Virginia University parking administrator and has also served in the NYPD. Bernard was assigned to the NYPD's Queens headquarters and retired in 2006 as a sergeant after 20 years of service. Eric was a member of the NYPD and retired as a captain before running for mayor.
"Bernard Adams has agreed to those conditions. Instead of a salary, he will continue to receive a city pension of approximately $64,000 from the 20 years he spent working as a New York City police officer before retiring in 2006 as a sergeant," reports the NYTimes.