On Wednesday, Mayor Eric Adams celebrated the passage of his signature housing plan. Then he reportedly became the first sitting NYC mayor to be indicted.
Adams faces criminal charges after a federal corruption investigation, the New York Times reports. The indictment is sealed, and the charges have not been announced, but the case springs from a wide-ranging probe into whether Adams conspired with the Turkish government to illegally receive foreign donations, according to the Times.
In November, reports indicated that investigators were looking at whether Adams intervened in the approval process of the Turkish government’s new high-rise consulate in Manhattan.
The news follows mounting reports of federal investigations involving the mayor and his inner circle, an exodus of senior officials and a growing chorus of elected officials calling on the mayor to step down.
Earlier on Wednesday, the mayor touted the City Planning Commission’s approval of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment. After the vote, a reporter asked Commissioner Dan Garodnick if the various investigations swirling around the administration could interfere with negotiations over the measure’s final passage.
Garodnick, speaking hours before news of the indictment surfaced, said the dynamics haven’t changed: The City Council has leverage over zoning changes. That’s why developers, and even administrations, sometimes withdraw applications. (Remember when the Bloomberg administration abandoned the Midtown East rezoning because it couldn’t get then-Council member Garodnick on board? He approved a subsequent version post-Bloomberg.)
But that could all go out the window if Adams steps down or is removed from office, or if his administration loses the officials who have been championing this proposal. It is difficult to see how this won’t affect passage of City of Yes, or at least shape how the City Council negotiates.
One developer told me this week that losing Adams would stunt the creation of new housing in the city and be bad for the real estate industry. He also said that he is most worried about how the city government is functioning.
“The cloud of all this has to be paralyzing to the city,” the developer told me. “How can you get as much done when you are being investigated?”
What we’re thinking about: Have disgruntled EB-5 investors gone too far in demonstrating their displeasure with Related CEO Jeff Blau? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Nintendo got its start in 1889 in Kyoto, Japan, as a trading card company, according to Wired. The company made hanafuda cards, Japanese trading cards that often featured colorful images of flowers and animals.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Mayor Eric Adams should step down “for the good of the city,” the New York Times reports. “The flood of resignations and vacancies are threatening government function,” she said. “Nonstop investigations will make it impossible to recruit and retain a qualified administration.” In response, per NBC, the mayor said: “For anyone who self-righteously claims people charged with serious crimes should not be in jail to now say that the second Black mayor of New York should resign because of rumors and innuendo — without even a single charge being filed — is the height of hypocrisy.”
— An Amtrak train bound for Washington, D.C., jumped the tracks while leaving Penn Station, Crain’s reports. No injuries were reported, but the derailment snarled commutes into and out of the station.
— Landlord Daniel Ohebshalom turned himself in Wednesday to serve a 60-day jail sentence for missing court-ordered repairs at two properties on West 170th Street, Gothamist reports. A Manhattan judge rejected his latest bid to avoid jail.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Wednesday was $10.3 million for a 4,633-square-foot condominium unit at 50 Wooster Street in Soho. The Bogard Team at Serhant had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $55.6 million for a hotel at 38-21 Ninth Street in Long Island City.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $27 million for a 5,302-square-foot condominium at 1 Central Park South, the Plaza Condominium & Residences. Charlie Attias of Compass has the listing. — Matthew Elo