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NYC Council tightens process around city vendors as accusations of corruption swirl around Mayor Adams

By

Michelle Bocanegra

Published Oct 10, 2024

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A file photo of Councilmember Julie Won

 

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By

Michelle Bocanegra

Published Oct 10, 2024

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The New York City Council is setting its sights on reforming the city’s process for hiring vendors, as Mayor Eric Adams faces questions around the city’s business dealings along with his own indictment on federal bribery and fraud charges.

Councilmembers unanimously passed a package of bills Thursday that aims to increase transparency around what city vendors have for years called an opaque procurement process for contracts.

Among other things, the legislation would require city agencies to provide a written explanation of why they chose to deny certain subcontractors, should the contractor request one. Another bill would pave the way for a formal avenue for vendors or their representatives to protest contract awards or other procurement actions.

Councilmember Julie Won emphasized that the scandals surrounding the mayor and his inner circle — as well as other bribery allegations involving city employees that emerged earlier this year — were a testament to the necessity of her legislation.

“The current Adams administration has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars in questionable contracts which these bills aim to reform,” Won told reporters before the Council voted on the bills Thursday.

Won repeatedly cited recent reporting around former Deputy Mayor Phil Banks and his business dealings, which have come into sharper focus over the past month. Banks previously owned a company called City Safe Partners, which had rarely done business with the city but was awarded a $154 million contract with the New York City Housing Authority, the New York Times reported.

News organization The City also reported that Banks’ former company landed on a no-bid shortlist to provide security at the city’s migrant shelters. The mayor’s office has previously told reporters that Banks divested from the company before his time with the Adams administration.

Won also cited bribery charges against a slate of NYCHA employees who had worked at the agency as recently as this year. She said union representatives with Local 1010 helped her develop the protest bill.

“There's a lot of corruption that we're currently seeing in real time, as well as ethics — questionable ethics — [around] who we’re contracting with as a city on taxpayer dollars,” Won said.

A spokesperson for the mayor did not immediately comment on the bills and did not say if Adams would sign them.

Tagged

corruption

new york city

procurement

city budget

Michelle Bocanegra

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