Amid swirling allegations, federal investigations and resignations, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said his team has remained focused and has not allowed the growing ethical storm to be a distraction. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.
The Eric Adams administration is losing another senior official, the third departure in just one week amid a whirlwind of federal investigations surrounding City Hall.
Kristen Edgreen Kaufman, the deputy commissioner of public private partnerships and economic development, part of the Mayor's Office of International Affairs, announced her resignation in a letter to colleagues, NBC New York has learned.
"After nearly three years serving the Mayor's Office of International Affairs as a Deputy Commissioner, I wanted to share with you that I will be leaving my position at the end of this month. I am grateful to Mayor Adams for this opportunity," Kaufman said in a letter obtained to by NBC New York on Wednesday.
Kaufman did not specify a reason for her departure in her resignation letter. It was not clear whether her departure had anything to do with the ongoing investigations into other members of the Adams administration.
Kaufman said she will continue to work with the International Affairs team over the next few weeks during the United Nationals General Assembly before focusing her work with the State Department's Fulbright Specialist Program and the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.
The office in which Kaufman worked acts as a liaison between the city, the international diplomatic community and the UN. Rana Abbasova also worked in the same office but was placed on leave in Nov. 2023 after the administration determined she had acted "improperly," according to Brendan McGuire, a criminal defense lawyer representing the mayor.
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Since that time, Abbasova has cooperated with a federal criminal investigation into fundraising by the mayor's 2021 campaign. Federal investigators have been looking into whether there were illegal foreign donations to Adams' campaign.
Her departure follows the sudden resignation over the weekend by Lisa Zornberg, the city's chief counsel and legal advisor to the mayor. Zornberg said in her resignation letter she could no longer effectively serve in her role, but did not go into further detail.
Mayor Adams has declined to elaborate on reports that Zornberg abruptly quit because he refused to push out some members of his inner circle who have been included in federal investigations, including aides who had their phones taken by the FBI. Earlier in the week, Adams said he "adores" Zornberg, adding only that "people make decisions and I respect those decisions."
"There were only two people in that room: The chief counsel and Eric Adams. If you can quote from that, you’re on target. Anything other than that is just speculation and rumors," Adams said.
Zornberg's resignation letter came just days after NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban was effectively pushed out from his position, resigning amid an investigation into the department's nightlife enforcement practices.
Caban's twin brother, James, was facing questions about whether he offered bars and nightclubs preferential treatment from the police department in exchange for bribes. One bar owner told NBC New York he felt extorted because James Caban asked for $2,500 to resolve noise complaints, and he said it was a staffer in the mayor's office who referred him to Caban.
That City Hall staffer, Ray Martin, was terminated after NBC New York's reporting suggested he may have been involved. The internal review of Martin was completed by Zornberg, and City Hall has not stated whether they reported what they found to the Department of Investigation.
The city's former top cop has denied any wrongdoing but said remaining in the position would be a distraction.
The resignations also come as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York announced charges against two FDNY chiefs who allegedly took bribes. Additionally, federal investigators seized phones from three members of the Banks family: Schools Chancellor David Banks, consultant Terry Banks, and Deputy Mayor Phil Banks. All have denied wrongdoing.
While their devices seized as part of the investigation as well, Adams and members of his inner circle have not been charged with any wrongdoing.
