NEW YORK — As he often does, Mayor Eric Adams appeared at a black-tie event last week.

The May 16 gala at the upscale Harmonie social club on Manhattan’s Upper East Side was held to raise money for a newly-launched charity that aims to fund cultural programs for disadvantaged city kids.

What was different about last week’s gala compared to many others the mayor attends is that the charity in question, Angels Helpers NYC, is the brainchild of his younger brother, Bernard Adams, who is being paid $10,000 annually for his work, covered by private donations to the group, the Daily News has learned.

Bernard Adams’ involvement in the charity, along with the mayor’s participation in the gala, has raised concern among watchdog groups that deep-pocketed players in the city will see giving to Angels Helpers as a legal backdoor for currying favor with the mayor. The gala, Angels Helpers‘ first fundraiser, was attended by several businessmen who also have donated to the mayor’s political and legal causes, according to a review of public records by The News.

It’s not against any rules for the mayor to attend his brother’s gala, but Rachel Fauss, a senior policy adviser at the Reinvent Albany government watchdog group, noted that city conflict of interest law prohibits local elected officials from soliciting donations “on behalf of any organization with which they are associated or that would benefit a person or firm with whom or which they are associated.” Individuals “associated” with an elected official include siblings, according to a 2008 advisory opinion from the city Conflicts of Interest Board, although there’s no indication the mayor is actively soliciting donations for Angels Helpers.

“I don’t know if the mayor is directly soliciting contributions on behalf of his brother, but for him to attend the gala with his political donors certainly raises a lot of red flags,” said Fauss. She also said it could be ethically problematic that the mayor’s political donors, while not doing anything that violates the rules, are effectively helping pay for Bernard Adams’ $10,000 compensation by giving to his charity.

“Money like water finds a way, and where there is the ability to donate money, people are going to try to pull at those strings to curry favor,” said Fauss.

Adams spokespeople didn’t return a request for comment this week on whether the mayor personally invited anyone to the gala or directly asked them to contribute to Angels Helpers. The spokespeople also didn’t say why his appearance wasn’t listed on his public schedule, as charity events he participates in typically are.

Bernard Adams hasn’t returned calls and texts this month.

Veteran government watchdog Susan Lerner, executive director of the nonpartisan Common Cause group, said there’s a need for more rigorous transparency laws around elected officials’ engagement with entities controlled by relatives.

...continued

©2024 New York Daily News. Visit at nydailynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.