Share This Article
The Trump Administration reportedly had talks with Eric Adams about offering the sitting mayor a position at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in exchange for dropping out of the mayor’s race (Adams denied the story).
It’s been a tough few weeks for Mayor Eric Adams. He’s trailing in every poll for the upcoming general election, a former aide was indicted on bribery charges, and another former aide handed a reporter a wad of cash in a bag of potato chips.
When Adams was facing his own indictment earlier this year, the Trump administration pushed the Department of Justice to drop the case, saying it needed the mayor’s cooperation on immigration enforcement. Now, it looks like the administration could fish Adams out of hot water again.
According to Politico, Adams was in talks with the Trump administration about securing a position with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in exchange for dropping out of the mayor’s race, clearing the lane for a head-to-head challenge between Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The New York Times first reported that the two parties were meeting about an administration position, adding that discussions also included finding a position for Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa to entice him out of the race as well. Then on Friday, the Times reported that the talks were focused on a possible ambassadorship for Adams in the Middle East.
The alleged conversations—and potential appointment to the federal agency overseeing housing—comes after Adams was indicted last year on charges that he interfered with real estate and construction deals, intervening to help the Turkish government obtain fire safety permits over the objection of the New York City Fire Department.
The news also follows recent allegations that his former top advisor Ingrid Lewis Martin took bribes to help developers jump up the city’s housing development pipeline, get permits, and secure lucrative shelter contracts. Both Adams and Lewis Martin pleaded not guilty.
Adams has maintained that he is staying in the race and denied the reports. “Although Mayor Adams has been the most pro-housing mayor in New York City’s history, at no time did he ask for—nor was he offered—a job at HUD,” said Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro in a statement.
Sliwa denied any contact with the White House and asserted his commitment to staying in the race in a statement.
Here’s what else happened in housing this week—
ICYMI, from City Limits:
- The Adams administration is still fighting implementation of several City Council bills that would expand eligibility for the CityFHEPS housing voucher program.
- Advocates are calling for City Hall to invest in green upgrades for New York City’s 1,800 public schools, which account for a third of local pollution from buildings.
- Take a photo tour of the 54 blocks of Long Island City that officials want to rezone. The plan, if passed, would spur “the most amount of housing generated by a neighborhood specific rezoning in at least 25 years,” City Planning Director Daniel Garodnick said.
ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:
- A city program launched more than two years ago to help landlords repair and re-rent vacant apartments has yet to get any takers, Gothamist reports.
- The city’s Department of Environmental Protection made upgrades at NYCHA’s South Jamaica Houses to fortify the campus against heavy rain and floods, according to The City.
- The City Council is asking the Board of Elections to block a series of ballot measures, proposed by Mayor Eric Adams’ most recent Charter Revision Commission, which would overhaul to city’s land use approval process to make it easier to build new housing—but would also reduce the Council’s role in development decisions, the New York Times reports.
- The development team behind the massive Innovation QNS proposal, which was expected to build thousands of new apartments and other amenities in Astoria, has dropped the project, according to The Real Deal.