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Eric Adams' NYC buildings boss Eric Ulrich heads to trial, 3 years after arrest
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 8:01 a.m. ET
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
David Brand
and
Samantha Max
Published Oct 19, 2026 at 8:01 a.m. ET
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Eric Ulrich's September 2023 arrest over accusations of bribe-taking and influence-peddling recalled a seedier era of New York City government, when top officials traded access and favors for cash and kickbacks.
Manhattan prosecutors charged Ulrich, the city's buildings commissioner at the time and a fixture of the city’s political scene, with taking more than $150,000 in cash and other goodies — like an oil painting, a discounted apartment and Mets tickets — in exchange for furthering his friends’ and associates’ business interests.
But the five indictments against Ulrich were not an isolated throwback to an earlier time. They would instead foreshadow problems to come for then-Mayor Eric Adams' administration, which was plagued by pay-to-play accusations ensnaring top aides and allies. The corruption charges eventually reached the very top of city government, when federal prosecutors accused Adams of accepting free airfare and travel perks in a case later dropped by a U.S. Department of Justice in thrall to newly inaugurated President Donald Trump.
Now, more than three years after Ulrich’s arrest and 10 months after the end of the Adams administration, Ulrich will finally have his day in court. The embattled politician is scheduled to appear before Manhattan Judge Daniel Conviser for a juryless bench trial on two of his four remaining indictments Monday morning.
Prosecutors say Ulrich used his influence to speed up a health department inspection at a Queens pizzeria and helped an associate's daughter land a higher-paying city job in exchange for Mets season tickets and cash to cover his illegal gambling. Ulrich is also charged with lying on 2022 financial disclosure forms required of government officials.
Two of his codefendants, brothers Anthony and Joseph Livreri, pleaded guilty to felony conspiracy charges last month. The pair own Aldo’s Pizza in Ozone Park and told the judge they gave Ulrich $4,000 to remove a vacate order on a Queens bakery following a fire.
Ulrich has denied any wrongdoing. He did not respond to phone calls requesting comment.
His attorney, David Jason Cohen, said “he never accepted bribes” and did not receive $4,000 from the Livreris.
“Eric was a completely dedicated public servant who operated with complete integrity,” Cohen said in an interview. “He never sold out his office. … He did not take money from anyone to do a political favor.”
If convicted, Ulrich could face up to 15 years in prison.
The case against Ulrich has diminished in the years since his arrest.
Conviser last year dismissed one indictment charging that Ulrich conspired with a wealthy developer to advocate for zoning approvals and to clear a homeless shelter in exchange for a discount on a condo a block from the shore in Rockaway Beach.
Cohen said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “overreached” and “sensationalized” the charges.
In response to the defense attorney’s claims, Bragg's spokesperson Doug Cohen said Manhattan prosecutors “look forward to proving our case at trial.”
In the years since his indictment, Ulrich has turned from government and politics to other pursuits, including insurance sales and writing children’s books.
Ulrich, 41, had long been a star in the city’s Republican Party and a fixture of city government before his arrest.
He was first elected to the City Council in 2009, when he was just 24, for a seat representing sections of South Queens, including Howard Beach and Ozone Park, and the western portion of the Rockaway Peninsula.
He was re-elected to his Council seat twice more, in 2013 and 2017, and finished second in a nonpartisan race for public advocate in 2019. The citywide seat opened after former Public Advocate Letitia James won a statewide election for attorney general.
Adams named Ulrich as a senior adviser shortly after his inauguration in 2022. Ulrich had endorsed Adams, a Democrat, in the race. He was named buildings commissioner in May 2022 and served in the role before resigning amid the federal investigation in November of that year.
He is one of several Adams allies still facing criminal charges.
Prosecutors say longtime Adams adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin took cash and perks to help real estate developers win city approvals, a hotel operator nab a lucrative shelter contract and a Brooklyn soundstage owner block a street redesign plan.
Lewis-Martin has pleaded not guilty.
Frank Carone, a longtime friend and former chief of staff to Adams, is accused of using his power in City Hall to steer a multimillion-dollar shelter contract to a Long Island City hotel in exchange for about $120,000 in bribes. Prosecutors said Carone’s brother helped to conceal the payments.
The former mayoral adviser, his brother Anthony Carone, hotel owner Yan Po Zhu, and Zhu’s business manager, Crystal Chen, face federal charges of bribery, money laundering and other crimes. They have all pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing.
Federal agents searched the homes of several other high-ranking Adams administration officials, including Schools Chancellor David Banks, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks, and Police Commissioner Edward Caban. None of them were charged with crimes.
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Politics
housing
new york city
public safety
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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