Bernard Adams steps down from senior security adviser role
Mayor Eric Adams‘ youngest brother, Bernard Adams, has decided to step down as senior adviser for mayoral security.
The reason why is not clear at this time.
Last year, the mayor sparked controversy after submitting a proposal to the city’s Conflicts of Interest board to hire his brother for the role, which came with a $210,000 salary.
The mayor backed down from the plan, and his brother, who is a former NYPD sergeant, was brought on as a volunteer instead, making $1 a year.
In an interview with PIX11 News, Bernard Adams said that he plans to spend more time with his wife, children and grandchildren in New York after his resignation.
“Working with the mayor is a 24-hour job,” he told the news outlet Friday.
Mayor Adams’ selection of his younger brother for the role last year made headlines and raised ethical questions, leading the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board to order Bernard Adams only be compensated $1 a year for the gig that would’ve paid $210,000 annually otherwise.
Mayor Adams justified hiring his brother by saying: “Personal security, my life, my life, I want in the hands of my brother.”
“I didn’t listen to the noise,” Bernard Adams, 57, said Friday about the controversy surrounding his hiring.
The retired NYPD sergeant still made $51,665 annually from his police pension, records obtained by The Post show.
Before taking the job coordinating security for Hizzoner, the younger Adams last worked as an assistant director for parking at Virginia Commonwealth University, per his LinkedIn page.
Initially tapped to be deputy police commissioner handling governmental affairs after his brother’s 2021 electoral victory, the Conflicts of Interest Board’s probe led to a more scaled-down advisory role, where Adams says he “handpicked everybody” in the mayor’s security detail.
“When it comes to protecting my life, there was no one I trusted more than my baby brother,” Mayor Adams told The Post in a statement Friday night.
“All New Yorkers should thank Bernie for his service to this city, but personally I not only thank him for joining our team, but being one of my strongest rocks after my mom died. This past year he showed me how important little brothers can be.”