NYC Council probing Adams staffer’s involvement in ex-employer’s development deal with city

The New York City Council is launching a probe into revelations that a backstage existent property steadfast scored a deal to redevelop the metropolis government’s nationalist wellness laboratory conscionable months aft 1 of the company’s executives joined Mayor Adams’ administration, the Daily News has learned.

In a missive sent Monday to Adams’ office, Gale Brewer and Amanda Farias, the chairwomen of the Council’s Oversight and Economic Development Committees respectively, demanded reams of records related to the medication official, Nate Bliss, and his engagement successful the determination to fto Taconic Partners overhaul the historical Manhattan nationalist wellness lab, according to the missive obtained by The News.

Taconic was picked by Adams’ medication successful April 2022 to crook the laboratory connected First Ave. successful Kips Bay into a 500,000 quadrate feet “state-of-the-art beingness sciences hub” dubbed “Innovation East.” The woody — which is taxable to City Council support — was awarded by the metropolis Economic Development Corp., an entity Bliss helps oversee successful his relation arsenic main of unit to First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer.

New York City’s Public Health Lab successful Manhattan. (Google)

The Taconic woody was announced aft Bliss had conscionable 3 months earlier near his occupation arsenic Taconic’s vice president to articulation City Hall successful precocious January 2022. Additionally, arsenic first reported by NBC4 earlier this month, the woody came unneurotic astatine a clip erstwhile Bliss was inactive pulling income from Taconic.

On apical of his main of unit job, Bliss was appointed by Adams successful 2022 to go seat of the Land Development Corporation, an obscure municipal entity that yet needs to motion disconnected connected the laboratory redevelopment.

“The overlap betwixt Mr. Bliss’ fiscal ties to Taconic, his roles astatine City Hall overseeing EDC and astatine LDC, and his engagement successful projects similar Innovation East rise important concerns astir imaginable conflicts of interest,” Brewer and Farias wrote successful their missive addressed to Torres-Springer and EDC CEO Andrew Kimball, notifying them of their probe of the Taconic deal. “This seemingly complicates the favoritism betwixt his roles arsenic a private-sector enforcement and a nationalist official, which indispensable beryllium clarified.”

Among assorted different records, the Council members demanded each communications betwixt Bliss, the mayor’s bureau and EDC unit astir the Innovation East project portion helium was inactive employed astatine Taconic. They besides requested the confidential bidding documents submitted by Taconic arsenic portion of the woody arsenic good arsenic communications betwixt the EDC and the mayor’s bureau astir the enactment of the firm.

Brewer and Farias acceptable a Monday deadline for Adams’ medication to fork implicit the requested records.

Adams’ office, EDC and Taconic didn’t instantly instrumentality requests for remark Thursday. Bliss didn’t instrumentality calls.

Previously, Adams’ bureau told NBC4 Bliss had nary relation successful selecting Taconic for the project.

Bliss’ fiscal disclosures amusement helium received betwixt $100,000 and $250,000 from Taconic successful the archetypal fewer weeks of 2022 earlier helium officially joined City Hall connected Jan. 23 of that year.

Additionally, Bliss has reported successful disclosures that portion successful metropolis authorities he’s receiving payments from a existent property concern money managed by Taconic. It’s unclear from his disclosures however overmuch helium whitethorn person received from that fund.

Brewer and Farias specifically asked Adams’ bureau to furnish records confirming however overmuch Bliss has been paid oregon volition beryllium paid by that fund. They besides asked for a database of each properties successful the metropolis the money is oregon has been invested in.

Under city morals law, a municipal worker is prohibited from moving connected immoderate matters involving a backstage steadfast with which the worker has a fiscal relationship.

Besides his income, Taconic straight lobbied Bliss past twelvemonth connected onshore usage issues related to the tract wherever the beingness sciences hub is to beryllium built, metropolis records show.

The laboratory Taconic has been selected to alteration is wherever authorities scientists developed the city’s responses to immoderate of the worst nationalist wellness emergencies successful caller history, including the COVID pandemic. In bid to accommodate the caller beingness sciences hub, the laboratory is being moved to Harlem Hospital nether the administration’s plan.

The Taconic woody concerns travel astatine a clip of heightened scrutiny astir metropolis authorities morals arsenic Adams remains nether a national corruption indictment to which helium has pleaded not guilty.

Adams medication existent property dealings person precocious travel nether particularly aggravated scrutiny.

The Department of Administrative Services, which Torres-Springer’s bureau besides helps oversee, is mired successful contention implicit a suit alleging a apical bureau official, Jesse Hamilton, pressured the metropolis government’s main commercialized existent property broker to enactment 1 of his friends, Diana Boutross, successful complaint of the firm’s dealings with the city.

The suit was filed aft Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ ex-chief advisor and a person to Hamilton and Boutross, was indicted connected bribery charges related to favors she allegedly did for existent property developers. She has pleaded not guilty, and Hamilton and Boutross aren’t facing charges.