Newly inaugurated Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams on Friday named his younger brother as a deputy NYPD commissioner, police sources said — a move that immediately raised nepotism questions.
Bernard Adams was assigned to the office of new Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, sources said. The post comes with a yearly salary of around $240,000, according to SeeThroughNY.net.
Defending the appointment Eric Adams said his brother, appointed as a deputy police commissioner, would help keep him safe from “white supremacy and hate crimes”.
Adams is a retired NYD officer. So is his brother, Bernard Adams, who most recently worked as assistant director of operations for parking and transportation at the medical campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a good governance group, told City & State: “New Yorkers expect that public servants are hired based on their unique qualifications and not because they are the mayor’s brother.”
Lerner said the approval of the city conflict of interest board would be required, but “even with a waiver, the appointment of the mayor’s close relative does not inspire public confidence”.
On CNN, Adams said the board would “make the determination and we have a great system here in the city”.
“But let me be clear on this. My brother is qualified for the position. Number one, he will be in charge of my security, which is extremely important to me in a time when we see an increase in white supremacy and hate crimes. I have to take my security in a very serious way.
“But at the same time, I need that right balance. I don’t want the people of this city to believe that their mayor is not approachable, and he’s not willing to engage.
“I took the subway system on my day one in office and those are the types of things that I’m going to do. My brother has a community affairs background [and is] a 20-year retired veteran from the police department. I need someone that I trust around me … and I trust my brother deeply.”
Featured Image Credit: Eric Adams | Mark Lennihan/AP Photo
____
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2022 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
