New York City leader and protege to Mayor Eric Adams, D-NY, is now under investigation for allegedly overruling the results of a formal bidding process concerning a real estate deal.
Jesse Hamilton, the deputy commissioner for real estate at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), reportedly intervened in a formal bidding process for a lease intended for the city's Department for the Aging.
It was revealed by POLITICO in October. In the expose, Hamilton was accused of steering a lease to an office tower to 14 Wall Street instead of 250 Broadway, owned by AmTrust Realty Corp., which won the DCAS' procurement process.
It was noted by The City that the owner of 14 Wall Street had raised donations for a trust set up specifically to pay lawyers representing Mayor Adams in his ongoing corruption case.
What Are the Specifics of the Allegations?
Three people who spoke to POLITICO who were knowledgeable about the matter said Hamilton ordered his staff not to speak to AmTrust Realty Corp. To be more specific, he sent a directive to colleagues at the DCAS wherein he claimed that NYC Aging Commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez was more in favor of the building at 14 Wall Street than the property of the AmTrust Realty Corp.
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"Please pause negotiations with 250 Broadway," Hamilton wrote in a May letter, a copy of which was obtained by the outlet. "I have spoken with the DFTA commissioner, and her desire is to relocate to 14 Wall Street."
The publication also found that Cortés-Vázquez had personally appealed to Dawn Pinnock, the outgoing DCAS commissioner, to resolve the issue, adding that her team aligned with Hamilton on leasing the space at 14 Wall Street.
How Was Hamilton Arrested?
Hamilton had just returned from an overseas trip with other city employees when agents from the Manhattan District Attorney's office met them at JFK Airport and seized their mobile phones.
There are also investigations on other real estate properties and potential conflicts between Hamilton and Diana Boutross, a real estate broker with Cushman & Wakefield. She is currently assigned as the tenant representative of the DCAS, particularly in deals worth millions of dollars.
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