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NYC Mayor Blocked From Giving Six-Figure Job to Brother—But Hands One to His Sister-in-Law

New York City mayor Eric Adams (Getty Images)
June 8, 2023

New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) gave a job paying a six-figure salary to his sister-in-law after an ethics office stopped him from giving one to his brother.

Sharon Adams, wife of the mayor's brother Bernard Adams, stepped into the role of "strategic initiative specialist" in the city's Department of Education on March 5, a job that pays as much as $150,000 a year, according to the City. That is more than a 100 percent increase from the job she previously held in the Richmond Public Schools system that paid her less than $73,000 annually.

This is not the first time Adams has tried to fill public-sector positions through nepotism.

The mayor had previously attempted to pay his brother $210,000 as the NYPD's deputy commissioner, but the city's ethics board thwarted him, ruling Adams's brother must work in an advisory role instead for $1 a year. Bernard Adams left that role on Feb. 28, a week before Sharon Adams began her job.

Adams has also appointed longtime friends to high positions in the city's government. In November, he gave the job of NYPD deputy commissioner, which pays $240,000 a year, to Lisa White, who had worked with him on the organization he cofounded, 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care. White was previously a 911 operator, who retired making a $53,000 salary and was living off a pension of $30,000 a year when he appointed her.

In April, the New York Post published a report detailing the high turnover rate in her office, with 10 police officers having transferred or asked to be transferred since she began her work.

Published under: Eric Adams , New York City