NYC Mayor Adams Demotes Brother’s Salary to $1 for Scaled-Back Adviser Position

Newly sworn-in New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ younger brother will receive an annual salary of $1 as a New York Police Department (NYPD) adviser.

Bernard Adams’ $1 salary is a massive pay cut from his initial $242,000 salary announced earlier this month when Mayor Adams chose Bernard to serve as an NYPD deputy commissioner. However, days after he chose his brother to serve at that position, Adams announced that his brother would serve in a lesser capacity as executive director of mayoral security. Bernard Adams was still set to take home $210,000 annually in that scaled-back role.

Adams, a former NYPD captain, asked New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) to approve the decreased pay and lower adviser position in a letter sent Tuesday. The board’s approval reportedly said that Bernard’s duties will “not involve the supervision of public servants or any command authority over NYPD personnel.”

NY Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams hold a press conference at the Fulton Street Station January 6, 2022, to announce new state-funded “Safe Options Support Teams.” (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

“Mayor Adams has committed to recuse himself from decisions regarding the terms of Bernard Adams’ employment with the City,” the board wrote.

“We made this proposal to the Conflict of Interest Board and they’ve agreed, and we’re grateful to Bernard for being willing to serve the city for no salary,” a New York City Hall spokesman said.

Bernard’s $1 salary aligns with previous New York City mayors who have hired their relatives. For example, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s daughter and sister did not take any compensation when working under his administration. Additionally, former Mayor William de Blasio’s worked for free.

The COIB said Bernard’s nominal salary is “for sole purpose of making Bernard Adams a City employee.”

Bernard Adams’ $51,665 police pension is still intact.

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