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NYC Council bill would crack down on former mayoral officials lobbying City Hall
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jan 22, 2025
Modified Jan 22, 2025
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Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Jan 22, 2025
Modified Jan 22, 2025
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More than a dozen New York City lawmakers are backing a bill that would prohibit certain employees in the mayor’s office from becoming city lobbyists — and it could be approved by the end of the week.
If passed, the legislation would ban former administration members from taking on lobbying roles for two years. The moratorium would apply to officials including the chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, chief counsel, chief adviser, senior adviser, director of intergovernmental affairs, communications director, press secretary, and any public servant who reports directly to the mayor. Chiefs of staff to a deputy mayor and deputy chiefs of staff to the mayor would face a one-year ban.
The measure, which would not apply to the Council or the city comptroller, comes as Mayor Eric Adams faces a raft of legal and ethical allegations, mostly centered around the misuse of power by his closest allies.
It's also another development in the ongoing power struggle between the City Council and City Hall.
In recent months, the Council has outlined plans to initiate a commission to revise the City Charter – New York’s governing document – without Mayor Eric Adams’ involvement.
The bill's primary sponsor is Councilmember Lincoln Restler of Brooklyn, who said current laws have “massive loopholes in our lobbying restrictions that urgently need to be closed.”
Frank Carone, Adams' former chief of staff and one of his longtime allies, left office after a year and almost immediately set up a consulting business for some of the city's biggest real estate concerns. As chief of staff, he was barred from lobbying the administration directly for one year. The new bill would require him to him to wait two years before lobbying city agencies.
“Our legislation ensures that the most senior and powerful people in the mayor’s office have a cooling off period where they are not permitted to lobby or appear before anyone in city government,” Restler said. “We need to make sure that our public officials are working in the public interest – not working to enrich themselves.”
The mayor's office said the administration had pushed for stricter lobbying restrictions during negotiations — including a two-year ban on lobbying executive agencies and an expansion of the ban to include City Council leaders and citywide elected officials — but the suggestions were ultimately rejected by the Council.
“It’s unfortunate that City Council staff and leadership are using their powers to push forward ‘rules for thee but not for me’ legislation," mayoral spokesperson Fabien Levy said in a statement. "This bill does not do enough to improve transparency. Some in the Council will falsely tout this bill as ‘good government,’ this bill does not do enough to give New Yorkers a better line of sight into their government.”
The bill is scheduled for a committee vote on Thursday.
“The most powerful people in city government – the mayor’s closest aides – should not be allowed to walk out the door in city government and start lobbying their former colleagues the very next day. That is wrong,” Restler said.
This story has been updated with additional information and comment.
Tagged
new york city
Politics
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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