MAYOR-ON-MAYOR: Mayor Eric Adams doesn’t have too many people rushing to his defense these days, as his team racks up raids, phone seizures and — in his case — a criminal indictment. But he has something of a sympathizer in his predecessor, fellow Democrat Bill de Blasio, who faced his own lengthy federal investigation. (Prosecutors cleared de Blasio, and he went on to win reelection.) “Innocent until proven guilty is a real thing,” de Blasio said during a conversation Thursday night with Betsy Fischer Martin, executive director of American University’s Women & Politics Institute. “I have plenty of questions here — real questions about what has happened in the Adams administration and the meaning of these charges and what’s happening with a number of his colleagues.” During the one-on-one at Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics, de Blasio took a shot at the strength of the charges brought forth against Adams last month from the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. “I don’t personally find the charges to be that powerful based on what I’ve seen. They seem a little diffuse to me,” said the former mayor, who quietly helped Adams in the 2021 mayoral primary. He added that prosecutors have been “leaking” information to build their case, which centers around allegations Adams accepted bribes from Turkish officials in exchange for official favors. Despite his supportive comments, de Blasio criticized Adams’ inner circle — many of whom have been fired or resigned amid an ever-growing list of city and federal probes. And he questioned the morality of taking gifts in the form of flight upgrades, which prosecutors allege Adams did. He also advised Adams to “stop sounding like a victim” and focus on delivering for constituents. The former mayor — whose hopes for advancing his political career were dashed by dismal approval ratings — also threw cold water on ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s interest in running for mayor, saying his longtime rival “basically wanted the state to himself.” — Sally Goldenberg IN THE ZONE: “It sends a shiver up your spine,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said while touring the new “Undesign the Red Line” exhibit in City Hall Thursday. Will the City of Yes for Housing plan — which is being negotiated and voted on by her council now — help fix the legacy of exclusionary zoning and housing discrimination? “My main thing with this is affordability,” Adams responded. “Who can afford to live here at the end of the day?” Council members Shahana Hanif and Kevin Riley also toured the exhibit Thursday, which the mayor’s administration set up this week to bolster their argument the housing plan addresses racial iniquities. — Jeff Coltin PATH FORWARD: At the Times Square subway station Thursday, Mayor Adams announced a pilot program to conduct overnight homeless outreach throughout Manhattan subway stops this winter. “As the weather changes, many people start to use the subway system as their primary place of housing,” Adams said. “That needs to change.” The program – dubbed Partnership Assistance for Transit Homelessness, or PATH for short – will deploy teams of one nurse, two service coordinators and four transit officers to offer services ranging from shelter placement to wound care. Adams said the program has been operating since Aug. 29. In that time, teams have made contact with 1,500 homeless people and delivered services to 500. “We are saying in no way that people who are dealing with these needs should be in jail, just the opposite. They don’t deserve to be ignored either,” Adams said. Standing next to the mayor was interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon, who cleaned out his office Thursday and plans to step down, POLITICO first reported. Donlon did not answer questions about his departure. — Timmy Facciola BILLS TO IMPROVE CONTRACTING: The City Council passed three bills Thursday intended to reform the city’s contracting process, legislation which sponsor Julia Won described as especially essential as the Adams administration is under investigation for some of its contracts. News coverage of alleged corruption has “revealed the Adams Administration’s waste of millions of taxpayer dollars in questionable contracts,” Won, a Queens council member, said, adding that her legislation would help “bring transparency, accountability, and fairness” to contracting. The bills address subcontractors and food procurement vendors. Adams' spokesperson Liz Garcia said the mayor’s office was glad to have worked with Won on the bills, which “formalize current agency practices and provide greater certainty to vendors and subcontractors.” But Garcia did not respond when asked whether Adams would sign them into law. — Emily Ngo CITY MONEY: Mayoral hopeful Brad Lander brought in $316,000 worth of donations in the last three months — and should already be eligible for $3.5 million in public matching funds overall, his campaign told Playbook ahead of Friday’s filing deadline. This was Lander’s biggest fundraising period yet — with his pace picking up significantly after announcing plans to run for mayor, instead of reelection as comptroller. — Jeff Coltin More from the city: — FBI agents raided the NYPD’s School Safety Division headquarters in Queens as part of a probe into city contracts. (New York Post) — Former top Adams adviser Tim Pearson’s nephew, who was promoted to detective with just two arrests in his four-year career, has been placed on desk duty. (Daily News) — The judge presiding over Adams’ campaign corruption case has dedicated much of his career to defending fair elections. (Gothamist)
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