IT’S THE LEASE I COULD DO: “Gross misuse of power,” “Tammany Hall-style corruption” and “shameless.” Those were among the searing critiques from Democrats looking to unseat Mayor Eric Adams, following revelations that his friend and aide Jesse Hamilton steamrolled an official bidding process and awarded a lucrative contract to a losing applicant — who happens to be a major mayoral donor. “If a mayoral donor was picked over a winning RFP’s leaser, it’s a gross misuse of power and a clear violation of procurement policies,” City Comptroller Brad Lander and 2025 mayoral candidate said in a statement, touting his recent anti-graft plan. “Corruption can thrive when unqualified cronies come into positions of power.” As POLITICO reported yesterday, Hamilton waved off the results of a request for proposals process this spring from his perch atop the Department of Citywide Administrative Services real estate division, where he oversees leases between city agencies and private landlords. Instead of going with the winning submission — which would have resulted in a lease worth tens of millions of dollars between the Department for the Aging and the owner of 250 Broadway in downtown Manhattan — Hamilton steered the juicy deal to 14 Wall St. The neoclassical office building is owned by Alex Rovt, a billionaire and longtime patron of Adams who had bid on the lease but lost. City Hall did not comment on Hamilton’s actions. But his conduct alarmed Council Member Lincoln Restler, who is planning to hold a hearing on DCAS leasing practices next week. “This is Tammany Hall-style corruption, plain and simple,” state Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who announced his bid for Gracie Mansion this week, said in a statement praising Restler. “If this reporting bears out, it’ll be yet another example of the Adams administration favoring wealthy donors over ethical government.” Hamilton is among the mayor’s longtime friends brought into city government who have since had their phones seized by law enforcement officials — a trend that irked others vying for the mayor’s job. “The cronyism is shameless,” state Sen. Jessica Ramos said in a statement. “The corruption is so blatant, and the worst part is no one in the administration seems to feel any remorse for misusing taxpayer dollars.” City campaign finance rules prohibit donors with business before the city from giving more than $400 to a mayoral campaign. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie — who has pushed legislation that would ban vendors seeking contracts with Albany from donating to state elected officials — also expressed concern about Hamilton’s behavior. “Public contracts should go to the best vendors — not the biggest donors,” Myrie said in a statement. “That’s why I’ve introduced legislation to ban this practice [on the state level] for three years straight.” Scott Stringer, another mayoral contender, has experience with unusual real estate transactions. As city comptroller, he released an audit about a scandal involving a Lower East Side nursing home improperly gaining authorization to develop luxury housing under former Mayor Bill de Blasio. “It’s clear that nobody is watching the chicken coop,” Stringer said. “I had zero tolerance during the Rivington investigation, and I have zero tolerance for this nonsense right now. And unless we all collectively say enough is enough, this is only going to hurt struggling New Yorkers.” — Joe Anuta
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