Eric Adams Staffer Bypassed Scoring System to Grant Contract to Top Donor
A City Council hearing revealed additional insights regarding Jesse Hamilton’s management of the city’s real estate portfolio.
TroibNews 
**NEW YORK — A close associate of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Jesse Hamilton, disregarded an official scoring system during a bidding process he supervised related to municipal real estate transactions. Instead of following the process, Hamilton redirected a lucrative contract away from the initial winner to favor a significant donor to the mayor, as reported by PMG.**
**Hamilton's involvement in this matter was discussed at a City Council hearing on Tuesday, where lawmakers questioned his supervisor about alleged corruption within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), an influential yet often overlooked municipal agency.**
**“Two years ago, Mr. Hamilton's appointment raised red flags. Today, those flags have turned into criminal investigations,” Council Member Lincoln Restler, who chaired the hearing, said in his opening remarks. “We have spoken with many people inside and outside of the administration who have been deeply concerned by Mr. Hamilton's judgment and lack of an ethical compass.”**
**During the hearing, lawmakers also scrutinized Hamilton’s connections with a private broker he collaborates with on real estate matters, who earns a commission from these deals. Issues were raised regarding Hamilton's promotion of a Bronx property he wanted the city to purchase and his involvement in a law enforcement investigation.**
**Despite earlier assurances to a PMG reporter that he would attend, Hamilton did not show up at the hearing. Instead, DCAS Commissioner Louis Molina faced a barrage of questions from Restler and others, defending Hamilton’s actions and the agency’s contracting decisions, which are reportedly part of a probe by the Manhattan district attorney. Earlier this month, investigators seized Hamilton’s phone as they investigate lease agreements between city agencies and private landlords.**
**As PMG reported, Hamilton intervened in an internal bidding process aimed at identifying a new space for the Department for the Aging, which was looking for accommodations in private office buildings. Although a winner had been declared, Hamilton diverted the deal to the owner of 14 Wall St., a frequent political donor who has financially supported Adams for over a decade.**
**While 14 Wall St.’s price was lower, Molina noted that it received lower marks in the internal ranking system overall. Furthermore, both Molina and Restler mentioned that the former general counsel of the agency had advised against selecting 14 Wall St. due to the advanced stage of negotiations with the owners of 250 Broadway, a location housing city and state agencies.**
**The former agency attorney deemed the switch legal but aesthetically concerning, according to Molina.**
**Restler and his colleagues were alarmed by Hamilton’s decision.**
**“The agency ignored their own internal scoring and the advice of the general counsel,” Council Member Keith Powers, who extracted details of the scoring system from Molina, stated after the hearing. “It’s clear that they should pull the contract and do a comprehensive review of their contracting process.”**
**Molina defended the choice, maintaining that the process was more flexible than Restler suggested. He stated that the agreement saved the city $31 million and that the Department for the Aging preferred 14 Wall St. He argued that the scoring differences were attributed to a more complex layout at 14 Wall St., which the aging department later indicated it could manage.**
**“14 Wall St. was always the cheapest option for city taxpayers,” Molina asserted.**
**With that said, he indicated that there were no plans for a comprehensive review of lease deals supervised by Hamilton, a stance not universally shared within the administration.**
**First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer is currently reassessing DCAS deals linked to Hamilton due to both the law enforcement investigation and the concerns raised during the hearing, according to Restler.**
**During the hearing, Restler also posed questions regarding Hamilton’s association with Diana Boutross, a broker from Cushman & Wakefield who collaborates with DCAS. Hamilton, Boutross, other administration officials, and a lobbyist recently traveled to Japan on what was reported as a self-funded trip. Upon their return to JFK Airport, agents from the Manhattan DA met them to seize the phones of Hamilton, Boutross, and a senior aide to Adams.**
**Boutross works on lease and acquisition transactions with private landlords and earns a commission from successful deals. Restler claimed that Hamilton has increasingly channeled transactions toward Boutross while diminishing the role of another broker who qualifies as a minority- and women-owned business. He pointed out Hamilton’s involvement in negotiations concerning a private Bronx property that he urged the city to buy for over $650 million — a deal that would potentially yield about $13 million for Boutross' firm, based on the commission formula Molina explained during the hearing.**
**Hamilton even filmed a promotional video for the property, the Bronx Logistics Center, praising the new construction and positing it as an optimal location for city agencies.**
**“This is a win-win for everybody involved,” he remarked in the video, which was presented during the hearing.**
**Restler suggested that the city should prioritize the financial interests of taxpayers over those of a private property owner who would benefit from Hamilton’s promotion.**
**“Wouldn’t promoting it, putting it on YouTube … inflate the price?” Restler inquired.**
**Molina claimed multiple city agencies were interested in the logistics center and stated that he was unaware of Hamilton’s trip to Japan with Boutross before it surfaced in reports. He contended that Hamilton had not breached any ethical guidelines according to DCAS policies or the Conflicts of Interest Board and noted that he hadn’t heard anything regarding investigators questioning DCAS employees or searching agency properties.**
**Hamilton is compensated with an annual salary of $213,783 as deputy commissioner for real estate services, a position for which he had no evident qualifications.**
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
**Hamilton's involvement in this matter was discussed at a City Council hearing on Tuesday, where lawmakers questioned his supervisor about alleged corruption within the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), an influential yet often overlooked municipal agency.**
**“Two years ago, Mr. Hamilton's appointment raised red flags. Today, those flags have turned into criminal investigations,” Council Member Lincoln Restler, who chaired the hearing, said in his opening remarks. “We have spoken with many people inside and outside of the administration who have been deeply concerned by Mr. Hamilton's judgment and lack of an ethical compass.”**
**During the hearing, lawmakers also scrutinized Hamilton’s connections with a private broker he collaborates with on real estate matters, who earns a commission from these deals. Issues were raised regarding Hamilton's promotion of a Bronx property he wanted the city to purchase and his involvement in a law enforcement investigation.**
**Despite earlier assurances to a PMG reporter that he would attend, Hamilton did not show up at the hearing. Instead, DCAS Commissioner Louis Molina faced a barrage of questions from Restler and others, defending Hamilton’s actions and the agency’s contracting decisions, which are reportedly part of a probe by the Manhattan district attorney. Earlier this month, investigators seized Hamilton’s phone as they investigate lease agreements between city agencies and private landlords.**
**As PMG reported, Hamilton intervened in an internal bidding process aimed at identifying a new space for the Department for the Aging, which was looking for accommodations in private office buildings. Although a winner had been declared, Hamilton diverted the deal to the owner of 14 Wall St., a frequent political donor who has financially supported Adams for over a decade.**
**While 14 Wall St.’s price was lower, Molina noted that it received lower marks in the internal ranking system overall. Furthermore, both Molina and Restler mentioned that the former general counsel of the agency had advised against selecting 14 Wall St. due to the advanced stage of negotiations with the owners of 250 Broadway, a location housing city and state agencies.**
**The former agency attorney deemed the switch legal but aesthetically concerning, according to Molina.**
**Restler and his colleagues were alarmed by Hamilton’s decision.**
**“The agency ignored their own internal scoring and the advice of the general counsel,” Council Member Keith Powers, who extracted details of the scoring system from Molina, stated after the hearing. “It’s clear that they should pull the contract and do a comprehensive review of their contracting process.”**
**Molina defended the choice, maintaining that the process was more flexible than Restler suggested. He stated that the agreement saved the city $31 million and that the Department for the Aging preferred 14 Wall St. He argued that the scoring differences were attributed to a more complex layout at 14 Wall St., which the aging department later indicated it could manage.**
**“14 Wall St. was always the cheapest option for city taxpayers,” Molina asserted.**
**With that said, he indicated that there were no plans for a comprehensive review of lease deals supervised by Hamilton, a stance not universally shared within the administration.**
**First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer is currently reassessing DCAS deals linked to Hamilton due to both the law enforcement investigation and the concerns raised during the hearing, according to Restler.**
**During the hearing, Restler also posed questions regarding Hamilton’s association with Diana Boutross, a broker from Cushman & Wakefield who collaborates with DCAS. Hamilton, Boutross, other administration officials, and a lobbyist recently traveled to Japan on what was reported as a self-funded trip. Upon their return to JFK Airport, agents from the Manhattan DA met them to seize the phones of Hamilton, Boutross, and a senior aide to Adams.**
**Boutross works on lease and acquisition transactions with private landlords and earns a commission from successful deals. Restler claimed that Hamilton has increasingly channeled transactions toward Boutross while diminishing the role of another broker who qualifies as a minority- and women-owned business. He pointed out Hamilton’s involvement in negotiations concerning a private Bronx property that he urged the city to buy for over $650 million — a deal that would potentially yield about $13 million for Boutross' firm, based on the commission formula Molina explained during the hearing.**
**Hamilton even filmed a promotional video for the property, the Bronx Logistics Center, praising the new construction and positing it as an optimal location for city agencies.**
**“This is a win-win for everybody involved,” he remarked in the video, which was presented during the hearing.**
**Restler suggested that the city should prioritize the financial interests of taxpayers over those of a private property owner who would benefit from Hamilton’s promotion.**
**“Wouldn’t promoting it, putting it on YouTube … inflate the price?” Restler inquired.**
**Molina claimed multiple city agencies were interested in the logistics center and stated that he was unaware of Hamilton’s trip to Japan with Boutross before it surfaced in reports. He contended that Hamilton had not breached any ethical guidelines according to DCAS policies or the Conflicts of Interest Board and noted that he hadn’t heard anything regarding investigators questioning DCAS employees or searching agency properties.**
**Hamilton is compensated with an annual salary of $213,783 as deputy commissioner for real estate services, a position for which he had no evident qualifications.**
Mark B Thomas for TROIB News
