Walls are closing in and tumbling down in the Adams administration

  

THE CITY

 

Federal authorities have raided the homes of some of the highest-ranking members of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, including two deputy mayors and the schools chancellor, and seized the electronic devices of New York City’s police commissioner, sources familiar with the situation told THE CITY.

This extraordinary effort in the last two days to obtain evidence from some of the highest-ranking members of Adams’ team — all of whom have longtime and close ties to the mayor — follows other federal raids and seizures that have swept up the mayor and other top aides in what appears to be a broadening investigation of City Hall.

On Wednesday agents showed up around 5 a.m. at the Hamilton Heights townhouse of Sheena Wright, who also happens to be the fiancé of Chancellor Banks. The chancellor was seen by THE CITY entering and leaving the townhouse twice on Thursday. Asked about the raid, David Banks declined to comment, saying, “Today is the first day of school, and I am thrilled,” he said, jumping into a SUV to head to a scheduled appearance at a school in Queens.

At the same time agents raided Wright’s townhouse, they simultaneously descended upon Deputy Mayor Philip Banks III’s brick and clapboard single family in Hollis, the sources said. A neighbor of Phil Banks’ home told THE CITY they woke up to a disturbance Wednesday morning and about 15 agents were on the street.

Then on Thursday the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office issued search warrants seizing the cell phones of Police Commissioner Edward Caban, a development first reported by Spectrum News NY1. Asked about this, the department’s press office responded, “The Department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The Department is fully cooperating in the investigation.”

A spokesperson for Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams declined to comment.

The New York Times reported that the FBI raided the home of a third Banks brother, Terrence, and seized electronic devices from Tim Pearson, one of another senior advisor to the mayor and one of Adams’ closest associates. In a lawsuit filed recently against Pearson alleging workplace retaliation, the plaintiff stated an FBI agent recently knocked on his door and asked about Pearson.

Adams spoke briefly with reporters as he left City Hall on Thursday afternoon.

“The goal is to follow the law and that is what this administration always stood for and what we’re going to continue to stand for,” he said.

When asked if he thought his staff followed the law, given multiple investigations, Adams said: “I think I answered the question, and that I’m going to continue to say as I’ve lived my entire life and I have confidence in the team, the team here. We’re going to follow the rules and comply with any questions that are asked of us.” 

NY Post 

Federal agents hit NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban and members of the nation’s biggest police force this week — amid a stunning spate of raids on others in Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle, sources said Thursday.

Agents showed up to the homes of Caban, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks and the townhouse shared by Schools Chancellor David Banks and First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright with search warrants early Wednesday and seized their electronic devices, according to law-enforcement sources.

Phil and David Banks’ brother, Terence Banks, a former MTA official who has turned to consulting work, was also targeted in the actions, sources said.

Another top Adams aide – retired NYPD inspector Timothy Pearson – had his phones subpoenaed, according to the sources.

It wasn’t clear if the raid on the Harlem home shared by Wright and David Banks targeted one or both of them.

The connections between the raids, subpoenas and other law enforcement sweeps targeting Caban, other NYPD officials and City Hall bigwigs remained murky Thursday.

But sources said the top cop and others in the department were targeted as part of a sweeping corruption probe involving influence peddling.

Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant, was served a search warrant with a subpoena, sources said. Investigators are looking into his role in the world of nightlife enforcement, according to sources.

Sources confirmed that NYPD Chief of Staff Raul Pintos and two precinct commanders in Manhattan and Queens were asked to turn over their phones.

The feds also are looking into rank-and-file NYPD officers, from precinct commanders on down, who serve in Midtown South and other precincts with a strong nightlife presence, sources said.

None has been accused of any crime.

The probes are being led by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, which has also been eyeing Adams’ 2021 campaign in another unrelated high-profile investigation, sources said.

Adams broke his daylong silence on the raids Thursday afternoon as he exited City Hall to a throng of reporters.

“As you’ve heard me say over and over again, as a former law enforcement person we will always follow the law and that is what this administration always stood for and will continue to stand for,” he said.

“Whatever information is needed, we will turn over.”

City Hall Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg, in a statement issued shortly after the raids were publicly revealed, implied city officials weren’t the probe’s ultimate targets.

“Investigators have not indicated to us the mayor or his staff are targets of any investigation,” said Zornberg in a statement.

“As a former member of law enforcement, the mayor has repeatedly made clear that all members of the team need to follow the law.”

An NYPD spokesperson confirmed an investigation focused on police officials.

“The Department is aware of an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York involving members of service. The Department is fully cooperating in the investigation,” the spokesperson said in a statement Thursday, referring questions to Manhattan federal prosecutors.

Caban could not be reached for comment. He was appointed to the commissioner role in July 2023 after previous top cop Keechant Sewell’s surprise resignation.

As commissioner, Caban works closely with the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office that now appears to be investigating him, many of his officers and a smorgasbord of his high-ranking city government counterparts.

Representatives for the US Attorney’s office declined to comment.

When The Post tried to reach Chief of Patrol John Chell for comment about the raids and subpoenas, NYPD Deputy Commissioner for Public Information Tarik Sheppard got on the phone and called the reporter a “f—ing scumbag.”

Sources said Terence Banks is being eyed over suspicions that since his retirement, he has acted as an unregistered lobbyist, who has brought businesses to City Hall through connections to his brother in a way that circumvents conflict of interest rules, source said.

Pearson, an Adams confidante who recently made headlines for being the subject of a sexual harassment suit, has long faced scrutiny for his shady role within the administration, which includes overseeing contracts for security at migrant shelters.

QBP Richards lied about education chairperson's removal

 

Queens Chronicle

Adriana Alicea, a Community Education Council 28 member appointed by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards who came under fire for posts on her social media, is still serving on the panel despite both Richards and the Department of Education saying her seat had been vacated.

The borough president expressed concerns about the handling of her status on the CEC in a Jan. 3 letter to schools Chancellor David Banks.

“I am writing concerning an individual whom I had previously appointed to Community Education Council 28, Adriana Alicea, and the lack of clarity in your agency’s position regarding her current status as a member of the CEC,” Richards wrote at the start of the letter, which was sent via email to the chancellor.

In the letter, obtained by the Chronicle, Richards wrote that he sought Alicea's resignation after reviewing her social media posts. Some on her personal X page contained hateful, pro-Palestinian and anti-white rhetoric regarding the Israel-Hamas war.

“While all are entitled to their personal opinions regarding this horrible conflict, after reviewing these statements, I concluded that several of them fundamentally were incompatible with her duties as an appointed public servant, including an explicit defense of Hamas and a justification for students targeting a Jewish teacher at Hillcrest High School on November 20, 2023,” Richards told Banks.

According to the letter, on Dec. 5, Richards’s general counsel spoke with Alicea, informing her of the borough president's request for her resignation. Richards wrote that Alicea “indicated that she acceded to this request.” 

Separately, Alicea also told the Chronicle at the time that she was being stripped of her appointment. She could not be reached again for comment.

“But later,” Richards wrote, “Ms. Alicea contacted members of the Family and Community Engagement team to either dispute or attempt to withdraw that resignation, instead characterizing what occurred as a removal. My office’s position has been and continues to be that this seat became vacant on December 5.”

Of her attendance at the following calendar meeting, Richards wrote, “On December 7, 2023, Ms. Alicea attended the CEC 28 meeting, and amidst the confusion that body’s president stated that absent a written communication from my office clarifying her status he would continue to recognize Ms. Alicea as a member. The controversy dominated that meeting at the expense of important business.”

To address the matter, Richards said his general counsel then met with senior members of the FACE team on Dec. 8, according to the email. FACE advised Richards to send written communication to the CEC 28 president, clearly stating the borough president's position and to appoint a new member to fill the vacant seat.

“On December 13, we submitted to FACE the name of my preferred new nominee and on December 15 I sent a letter to the CEC 28 president, copying FACE, clarifying my position that the seat was now vacant and that I would be appointing a new member shortly,” Richards wrote.

“On the evening of December 15, FACE notified my office that my preferred candidate had cleared their vetting, and then I formalized that appointment on December 19 by notifying the nominee as well as FACE.”

However, according to the letter, on Dec. 21, a representative from the DOE’s intergovernmental team informed Richards' office that Alicea's refusal to provide a written resignation would hinder the appointment of a new member. 

“My concern is that the conflicting messages from your agency to my office regarding this matter has hindered our shared ability to move forward in the best interests of the students and families of District 28 and generated unneeded confusion and controversy,” Richards wrote. “I look forward to working with you to resolve this matter.”

The Borough President’s Office on Friday told the Chronicle that it had not yet received a written response to the letter.

 

30,000

 

NY Post

New York City public schools are on track to lose close to 30,000 students by this fall, according to new city data.

Projections from the Office of Student Enrollment, shared with The Post Friday, showed the city Department of Education expects to enroll roughly 28,100 fewer students this fall, and another 2,300 students by the end of the school year.

The figures account for students in all geographic district schools — but do not include those enrolled in charter schools, schools for kids with disabilities, and other nontraditional public programs.

“Here’s what’s happening with the Department of Education,” Mayor Eric Adams said at an unrelated event this week.

“We have a massive hemorrhaging of students — massive hemorrhaging. We’re in a very dangerous place in the number of students that we are dropping,” he said.

By the end of next school year, the largest school district in the nation expects to serve a student population of just 760,439 children, the data show.

The second largest public school system — the Los Angeles Unified School District — enrolls over 600,000 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, according to its website.

The DOE on Friday doubled down on School Chancellor David Banks’ focus on responding to students’ needs and making families feel heard to stem the tide.

Roughly 120,000 students have fled the public school system over the last five years, according to the DOE.

Officials also pointed to national trends of decreased enrollment, attributing that to diminished birthrates, a lack of affordability, and relocations during the pandemic.

Adding that those problems can’t be solved in half of a year, they were optimistic about plans so far and in the works to lure families back to the public school system.

 

Eric Adams flaunts nepotism hire for his mayoral campaign

 

NY Daily News

 Democratic mayoral nominee Eric Adams is taking advice from a former NYPD chief who once said he’d plead the Fifth Amendment in a corruption trial — and whose brother is now a top contender to become Adams’ schools chancellor if he’s elected.

Former NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks is one of several former cops advising Adams when it comes to public safety, three sources confirmed.

And Banks’ brother, David Banks, the president of the Eagle Academy Foundation, is in the mix with Adams as well, but in a slightly different respect.

He’s being eyed as someone who could helm the city’s Department of Education in an Adams’ administration, according to two sources familiar with Adams’ expected transition.

According to one of those sources, Banks is a virtual shoo-in for the job.

“I would be shocked if there were other candidates who came out ahead of him,” the source said. “They go way, way back.”

 When asked about Philip Banks’s role as an advisor, Adams’ campaign spokesman Evan Thies said he “is one of a number of policing experts who have offered their institutional knowledge of the department, including former Commissioner Bratton and other former chiefs of department.”

Adams himself also backed up his choice of Philip as an advisor when it comes to the NYPD

“I’m relying on everyone with experience in law enforcement. I’m not excluding anyone to keep my city safe,” he said Thursday. “Everyone who has served, everyone from police officers to former heads, I’m relying on.”