When Mayor Zohran Mamdani not too long ago introduced he was reappointing Adams administration holdover Michael Garner as town’s high official selling range in metropolis contracts, he singled out Garner’s previous success aiding minority- and women-run companies in the same function he had held for years on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
However Garner’s document of MWBE success got here beneath a cloud earlier than Adams even appointed him.
In a report issued simply as Garner left the company to go work for Metropolis Corridor, the MTA’s inspector basic concluded {that a} unit he supervised cherry-picked and relied on unverified information that introduced a distorted image of the small-business improvement program Garner ran to steer minority-and women-owned corporations to profitable MTA contracts.
The MTA finally agreed with the IG’s findings and promised to undertake its advisable reforms.
In asserting Garner’s reappointment to his $274,000-a-year function because the mayor’s chief advisor on MWBE insurance policies, the brand new mayor additionally didn’t point out Garner’s involvement in a behind-the-scenes try to control a metropolis company’s MWBE objectives in a approach {that a} woman-owned actual property brokerage contends helped minimize it out of receiving commissions on metropolis leases.
In a lawsuit, the woman-owned agency, JRT Realty, alleged the company that handles leases, the Division of Citywide Administrative Providers (DCAS), eliminated ladies from the standard MWBE objectives in an effort to favor a dealer with ties to Adams’ high aides, together with his former Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin and Jesse Hamilton, a protege Adams put in control of metropolis leases.
On Tuesday Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for Mamdani, declined to reply to any of THE CITY’s questions on Garner, together with whether or not the administration was conscious of the IG report or the allegations of DCAS altering MWBE objectives when vetting Garner for reappointment. She additionally declined to offer a response from Garner.
That is the third occasion wherein problematic new info has surfaced a few Mamdani decide after their appointment was introduced.
Since-deleted antisemitic social media postings by one rent, Catherine Almonte Da Costa, resulted in her resigning. And Mamdani continues to again Cea Weaver as his option to run the brand new Mayor’s Workplace to Defend Tenants, even after previous social media posts surfaced wherein she dubbed homeownership as a “weapon of white supremacy” and contended that non-public property ought to be banned.
Whereas most high stage advisors to Eric Adams are actually gone, Garner is an exception. He managed to carry on till the final minute, after which turned certainly one of a handful of Adams veterans Mamdani determined to maintain on at Metropolis Corridor.
Adams named Garner as his chief range officer in February 2023. His ties to the previous mayor date again many years. He was co-founder of 100 Black Males of New York Metropolis, a philanthropic group of outstanding Black leaders whose president for years was Philip Banks Jr., with whom Adams had a longstanding friendship from their days within the NYPD.
For a lot of his profession Garner managed applications that assist companies owned by ladies and minorities to land authorities contracts, together with on the New York Metropolis Housing Authority after which for 14 years on the MTA.
In that capability, Garner ran the MTA’s Small Enterprise Growth Program, a unit that since 2010 has recruited, suggested and mentored small, minority-owned companies “to create a big pool of numerous, certified contractors who can compete for MTA tasks.”
Credit score: Marc A. Hermann/MTA
By the point Adams put Garner in his administration, Performing MTA Inspector Basic Elizabeth Keating was wrapping up an investigation of Garner’s MTA program.
By January 2023, the MTA IG had “recognized weaknesses within the TA’s capability to report on taking part corporations’ success in profitable contracts,” charging {that a} unit beneath Garner’s direct supervision, the Division of Variety and Civil Rights (DDCR), was presenting a distorted model of actuality.
The unit, the IG charged, relied on selective information when reporting on the successes of this system. Wanting on the MTA’s 2022 report on that program, the IG discovered that the information didn’t embrace 80% of this system’s graduates.
The IG acknowledged that the DDCR’s report included solely 50 of the 268 MWBE corporations that had participated in this system and included solely corporations that graduated from this system and went on to win contracts within the $1 million to $3 million vary that had achieved sure income ranges over three years.
The division, the IG discovered, additionally used doubtlessly unreliable info in filtering out these high performers, counting on information offered by the corporations with out independently verifying the credibility of the knowledge.
“The report the MTA makes use of to speak corporations’ contracting exercise and income ranges after commencement is overly selective and depends, partly, on unverified info,” the IG acknowledged, advising that the MTA ought to embrace all this system’s individuals to get an correct image of its general successes and failures.
The IG additionally discovered Garner’s Small Enterprise Growth Program didn’t monitor what number of individuals in this system subsequently bid on MTA work and what number of really received contracts. This successfully prevented the general public from realizing what number of graduates of Garner’s program had been profitable bidders and what number of weren’t.
“As a result of the MTA doesn’t totally establish which graduates have received prime contracts with the TA nor have the power to find out what number of occasions graduates have sought and been unsuccessful in profitable bids, the company doesn’t have the knowledge wanted to guage its success charge,” the IG declared. “This system is liable to investing important workers effort and time…to pick out, practice and mentor small companies with out realizing if the funding is offering a ample return.”
The IG despatched a draft of its findings to the MTA in search of a response in early January 2023. Just a few weeks later at a January 30 social gathering at Cipriani’s attended by Adams, Garner introduced he was leaving the MTA to work for Metropolis Corridor.
That Feb. 13 Adams introduced his appointment of Garner as his chief range officer. Just a few weeks later in March, the IG made the findings of its investigation public.
In its report, the IG famous that the MTA’s interim Chief Variety and Inclusion Officer agreed with all of the investigators’ findings and promised to undertake all of the IG’s suggestions for reform, together with taking a look at all this system’s individuals when reporting on this system’s success charge with graduates.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Pekec, additionally didn’t reply to THE CITY’s questions relating to Garner’s involvement in a behind-the-scenes effort on the Division of Citywide Administrative Providers (DCAS) {that a} woman-owned actual property brokerage alleges was designed to squeeze her out of commissions on metropolis leases.
Garner’s function on this incident emerged final yr in a lawsuit filed by JRT Realty, a brokerage based by Jody Pulice. For years the brokerage that advises the DCAS on metropolis leases, Cushman & Wakefield, had relied on JRT to satisfy town’s objectives to award 30% of its work to MWBEs.
That modified in 2024, JRT alleged, when Jesse Hamilton — an Adams protege put in as DCAS deputy commissioner in control of town’s leasing — obtained concerned. In keeping with the lawsuit, as soon as Hamilton confirmed up, DCAS changed the 30% mark with a distinct formulation and tried to eradicate women-owned companies from the company’s MWBE objectives.
JRT accused Hamilton and Cushman of conspiring to push them out, successfully giving a C&W dealer, Dianna Boutross — a pal of Hamilton and Adams’ then-Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin — the entire fee on DCAS leases and purchases. Boutross accompanied Hamilton and Lewis-Martin on a visit to Japan in September 2024. All three had their telephones seized by the Manhattan District Lawyer at JFK Worldwide Airport upon their return from abroad.
Lewis-Martin and Hamilton have since been indicted by the DA on unrelated corruption fees. Each have pleaded not responsible.
Within the spring of 2024, JRT alleges, DCAS knowledgeable them that the division had modified its MWBE objectives from 30% for both minority- or women-owned companies to a brand new system the place the objective was now 10% Black, 10% Hispanic and 10% Asian.
Girls-owned companies had been now not within the equation.
JRT says the agency then reached out to Garner about this in his function because the mayor’s high MWBE advisor. Garner first responded by confirming the existence of the brand new protocol, however then got here again and stated it was now amended once more — this time to 10% Black, 10% Hispanic and 10% ladies. The proposed reformulation would have put JRT again within the image, however at a a lot lowered charge.
Throughout conferences at Metropolis Corridor with DCAS and Cushman that spring and summer season, Garner praised JRT’s professionalism however stated town didn’t need to get entangled in any disputes between contractors and subcontractors, and warned that town doesn’t tolerate MWBE fraud, based on the lawsuit.
In the end JRT was pushed out totally and sued. A Manhattan Supreme Courtroom decide dismissed some features of the lawsuit in June however that judgment is presently on attraction. JRT’s lawyer, Carmine Castellano, declined to touch upon Garner’s involvement or the pending swimsuit.
