WORLD WORLDWIDE USA New York NY New York City NYC the city THE CITY News Journal Update - THE CITY SCOOP: Indicted Adams Official Never Completed His City Hall Background Check

 

View this email in your browser If you know anyone who might like this newsletter, send it to them. If this was sent to you by someone else, subscribe here — it's free!  Dear New Yorkers, Eric Ulrich, the advisor and top buildings commissioner to Mayor Eric Adams charged with pocketing $150,000 in bribes, did not complete his required background forms until nine months after he began working for the mayor. The forms were eventually completed in September 2022. As a result, Ulrich’s background check was still underway last November when he resigned as commissioner of the Department of Buildings after word surfaced that he’d been questioned by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in a corruption investigation. Ulrich was finally indicted last week. Prosecutors alleged that Ulrich was showered with cash by several people who hoped to win favorable treatment from City Hall. The next day, a DOI spokesperson revealed the delay in Ulrich’s filings after THE CITY inquired. What Ulrich claimed in the documents he eventually filed is unknown. But some of the items on DOI’s standard financial questionnaire go to the heart of the pay-to-play transactions outlined in lurid detail in the indictments. Question 33, for instance, asks the applicant to “List any financial arrangements that may present a potential conflict of interest with your City employment.” Read more here. In other news: Mayor’s Report Management Eric Adams has made a habit of dumping the annual Mayor's Management Report on a Friday afternoon — minimizing public attention to the mandated annual accounting of city agency performance.  Two standout statistics may help explain why he isn’t eager to talk about what’s getting done in his city:  The number of felony crimes was up 6.4% from the previous fiscal year, and up 35.6% from before the pandemic. That happened as overall police response times to crimes in progress were up to 14:24, from 9:55 in fiscal year 2019. The NYPD said that the slowdown was because of more street traffic and because the “volume of crime in progress calls and response times [are] both at a five-year high.”  Just 39.7% of food stamp applications and 28.8% of cash assistance applications were processed in a timely fashion, down precipitously from 95.4% and 91.6% just two years ago. Applications were up a little over 10%, with City Hall attributing the difference to more people requesting the aid and “fewer staff due to attrition and retirements."  — Harry Siegel Some other items of note: Last summer, the Adams administration put the brakes on a de Blasio-era plan to eliminate the Department of Correction’s use of medieval-like restraint desks for young adults in specialized units. At the time, jail officials said they did not have the proper staff or training to eliminate certain controversial practices. But the draconian desks have actually led to a new increase in violence: Eight people restrained to the chairs have been slashed over the past two weeks, according to Department of Correction records.  The New York City economy has stalled in large part because of the fallout from the strike that has shut down the city’s key movie and TV production sector. Movie and TV production jobs fell to 39,700 in August compared with about 53,000 before the strike began, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Labor. As a result, the city’s job gains have slowed to a crawl. Employment remains stuck at 40,000 jobs below the pre-pandemic level, about where it has been for several months. Earlier this month, the New York State Department of Health ceased reporting overall COVID-19 case numbers. As a result, we’re no longer able to include updates in our Coronavirus in New York City tracker. We’ve kept past numbers for the historical record. According to health experts consulted by THE CITY, hospitalization rates, ICU capacity and vaccination rates remain the best indicators of the current state of the pandemic — all of which are updated regularly on our tracker. Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Monday's Weather Rating: 4/10. A very soggy start, with periods of rain and humidity making it feel uncomfortable despite highs in the upper 60s. This afternoon will be a bit better, with only scattered showers - but still not ideal. The vibes are unsettled today! Things To Do Here’s what’s going on around the city this week. Monday, Sept. 18: Climate Week NYC, which runs through Sunday, Sept. 24 with rallies, talks, workshops and more. Registration required for some events. Free. Thursday, Sept. 21: Opening reception for Cevallos Brothers, the first exhibition dedicated to a pair of legendary Queens signmakers. Yeh Art Gallery, St. John’s University. 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Free. Friday, Sept. 22: Bushwick Open Studios, a three-day event spotlighting art in many mediums at galleries, bars, studios, street corners, parks and more. 12 to 11 p.m. through Sunday, Sept. 24. Free.   THE KICKER: In 1999, Sean “Diddy” Combs rapped about one day holding a key to New York City. Last week, he was awarded one.  Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Monday. Love, THE CITY P.S. Love THE CITY? Our nonprofit newsroom runs on support from readers like you. Donate here. THE CITY's work is made possible, in part, through the support of our sponsors. Interested in becoming a sponsor of THE CITY? Contact us here.  Copyright © 2023 THE CITY, All rights reserved.