As Adams gets bombarded with scandal questions, top opponent opts for boring territory

NEW YORK — While Mayor Eric Adams faced a barrage of questions about the scandals engulfing City Hall, a leading reelection challenger chose to focus on the decidedly drier topic of procurement reform.

“This is a moment of crisis, and we should use that moment to make real changes,” said City Comptroller Brad Lander, a left-flank Democrat running to replace Adams next year. “What's happening across the street at City Hall is deadly serious.”

The atmosphere was indeed serious, as Adams repeatedly defended his embattled aide and longtime friend Tim Pearson amid growing calls for his ouster. Members of his inner circle, POLITICO reported, and the oft-loyal New York Post editorial board are pressuring the mayor to fire Pearson, who is facing accusations of workplace sexual harassment and assaulting a city contracted security guard, on top of having his phone seized by federal investigators this month.

And though he did his best to dodge questions on the federal investigations that have already led to the departure of top appointees, Adams, too, copped to Lander’s framing of an administration in crisis.

“Every mayor I have communicated with says there are moments of crisis in an administration,” Adams said at his weekly press availability at City Hall, when asked about Lander’s comment. “I can manage no matter what we are facing. Because I have one mission. My north star is improving the city that I love.”

But Adams couldn’t hide his disdain for Lander.

“He said that yesterday, or Jan. 3, 2022? Because he’s been saying that just about every other day since we’ve been in office,” Adams said through laughs, referring to the first week of his term. “You lose the credibility of your message when your message doesn’t change no matter what the state is.”

Recent events would substantiate Lander’s assertion. In the last few weeks federal agents have raided the homes or seized the cell phones of at least five top Adams aides. His police commissioner was forced out. His city lawyer abruptly quit. Two fire chiefs were arrested. Some of his most loyal allies are privately voicing deep concern.

Adams on Tuesday wouldn’t confirm reports that Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg resigned Saturday night over his refusal to fire scandal-scarred aides including Pearson and Winnie Greco, insisting that he had a private conversation with her, and nobody else would know her thinking.

But his continued defense of Pearson seemed to be an admission that he was unlikely to be going anywhere.

“I’m just a strong believer that let the process take its course,” Adams said when asked about his loyalty to Pearson.

Adams also emphasized that Pearson led a team that “saved hundreds of millions of dollars” by analyzing city contracts around housing and serving migrants.

However, Adams’ defense of Pearson fell short of previous statements in which he brought up the former NYPD official’s service on Sept. 11.

Adams also declined to say whether he was still “not a target” of any federal investigation, or elaborate on whether he had been deemed a “subject” or a “witness” following POLITICO’S reporting that the increasingly popular defense is relatively meaningless .

“I’m not going to have a (weekly) advisory of what I’m classified in,” he said. “The investigation will take its course. It would be inappropriate for me to talk about an investigation.”

Adams leaned on his main message this week: he’s not distracted by the chaos.

“Ten months ago, my phones were taken ,” he said, referring to a November search by the FBI. “And when you look at what happened in those 10 months? It’s right up there,” he said gesturing to a screen highlighting positive changes in the city. “If you look at the numbers, you look at the analysis, you can’t walk away with ‘this mayor has been distracted, and has not continued to move the city forward.’”

Over at the comptroller’s office, Lander sought to distinguish himself from the chaos surrounding Adams by releasing a set of transparency recommendations to improve the city’s procurement process.

Federal investigators are reportedly looking into city contracts awarded to private firms for which the brother of two top city officials was hired to consult.

“It’s already illegal to have an unregistered lobbying agency lobbying the agency led by your brother, but there are many areas where our practices, like not registering with subcontractors, have created gaping holes through which corruption seeps,” Lander said.

Lander, who declined to call on Adams to resign, said as mayor he would fire anyone under FBI investigation.

He also criticized the mayor’s initial promise to work with the comptroller’s office to promote transparency.

“You could find a lot of places where he said, at the beginning of the administration, ‘This is going to be the most transparent administration in history,’” Lander said. “Very, very little of that has come to fruition.”