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Dear New Yorkers,

A behind-the-scenes review ordered by Mayor Eric Adams after a 2022 investigation by THE CITY, which delved into security at hotels that housed released inmates during the pandemic, has found that millions of taxpayer dollars were secreted away to a subcontractor.

The hotels were run by Exodus Transitional Community, an organization that helps incarcerated people reintegrate into the outside world.

Bank records show that from February 2021 until the mayor initiated the review 13 months later, Exodus paid more than $12 million to a bank account for Watchforce Security Services Inc.

But Watchforce did not have a security license, and it turned to other security companies that did, paying them $8.3 million to provide the security at the hotels.

That leaves nearly $4 million in federal COVID emergency housing funds unaccounted for.

The Adams inquiry — never made public — concluded that Exodus had violated the city's rules by hiring and paying Watchforce without disclosing its existence to city agencies.

Yet the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice did not inform City Comptroller Brad Lander of the investigation’s existence — even as Lander was weighing approval of a new contract for Exodus as the company went from an initial payment from the city of $835,000 to $83 million.

Read more here about the probe, the city’s contract with Exodus and the missing funds.

Weather scoop by New York Metro Weather Tuesday’s Weather Rating: 5/10. A nice start with a comfortable breeze, but by afternoon temperatures are closing in on 90° F and it’s feeling hot again. The vibes are … all right.

Our Other Top Stories

The United Federation of Teachers announced on Sunday that it has withdrawn its support for switching retired employees and their elderly or disabled dependents to Medicare Advantage. It’s the latest pushback against the joint union-City Hall pact to switch the city’s 250,000 civil service retirees to a privatized Medicare plan. Left unsaid is how else unions might find the $600 million in annual cost savings that the move was expected to free up to help pay for city workers’ raises. Reminder: Today is primary election day in New York! If you’re registered with a party, don’t forget to vote. And here are nine competitive races to keep an eye on.

Things To Do

Here’s what’s going on around the city this week.

Wednesday, June 26: Shakespeare in the Park is mobile this summer, in outdoor spaces around the city. Catch the Public Theater’s performance of “Comedy of Errors” at the Gil Scott-Heron Amphitheater in St. Mary's Park in The Bronx. Free from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, June 28: Watch the 2003 animated film “The Triplets of Belleville” outdoors. (In French, with English subtitles.) Free from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at J. Hood Wright Park in Manhattan. Saturday, June 29: Listen to Music at the Garden, featuring Gina D'Soto, Jennah Vox and the Queens Symphony Orchestra. Tickets: $6 and under. From 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Queens Botanical Garden.

THE KICKER: Go sailing in Central Park this summer! (Kind of.) For the first time since 2019, remote-operated model sailboats are available to rent at the Conservatory Water Pond near East 74th Street, reports West Side Rag.

Thanks, as always, for reading. Make it a great Tuesday.

Love,

THE CITY

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