A former employee of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was working as a lobbyist for at least one company that had business before the BP's office, almost immediately after he left his job with Adams - creating the potential for a conflict of interest.
Joel Eisdorfer, who began working for Adams during his days in the state Senate and who continued working for him in Borough Hall, acted as a lobbyist for New York Capital Group LLC, where he's worked from 2016 to 2021. In all those years except 2017, Eisdorfer was the sole lobbyist at the firm, according to records kept by the city Clerk's Office.
Adams is a front-running candidate for mayor and has picked up endorsements from several of the city's most politically powerful labor unions, including the Hotel Trades Council, DC 37 and SEIU 32BJ.
© Barry WilliamsNew York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams
New York City mayoral candidate Eric Adams (Barry Williams/)
In 2016, Eisdorfer's firm represented Riverside Developers USA Inc., which at the time had a South Williamsburg rezoning under review by Adams' office as part of the city's land-use review process. In January 2017, Adams signed off on the rezoning, which would pave the way for two new buildings with 296 apartments, with the caveat that some modifications be made to it.
According to records from the Clerk's Office, Eisdorfer was the principal and only employee at the firm in 2016 to handle the Riverside account, but in the following year, he and two associates, Jacob Guttman and Rachel Kornfeld, appeared to also be doing work for the developer.
© Provided by New York Daily NewsJoel Eisdorfer
Joel Eisdorfer
In 2016, Eisdorfer also worked as an Adams' staffer for a relatively small sum of cash - $41,327 annually, according to city payroll data. Records provided by the Borough President's office show that Eisdorfer was issued his last check from the city for his work on July 1, 2016. Records also show that he resigned on May 11, though Adam's Chief of Staff Ryan Lynch noted his last day as an employee was March 26. Lynch attributed the lag between his last day and his official resignation date to leftover vacation days he hadn't taken and was being compensated for.
Lobbying proved much more lucrative for Eisdorfer. Records from the Clerk's Office reveal that in 2016, Eisdorfer earned $97,500. In total, he has earned more than $600,000 as a lobbyist.
Eisdorfer was registered as a lobbyist for Riverside on June 15, 2016 - about a month after his official resignation date and weeks before he received his last check from the city, records show. His work for another client, Plaza Auto Mall, was officially registered with the clerk's office on May 16 - four days before he was issued a May 20 check for his vacation time from the city, records show.
The timeline raises the question of whether his contracts with Riverside and Plaza may have been negotiated during his time employed under Adams.
Eisdorfer's lawyer David Grandeau would not say when those deals were hammered out, but denied they were negotiated during his time at Borough Hall.
"No negotiations took place while he was working at the Brooklyn Borough President's Office," Grandeau said. "All the negotiations that did take place took place after he left."
Plaza Auto Mall is controlled by reputed mobster John Rosatti, an alleged soldier for the Colombo family.
Aside from doling out contributions to politicos like Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez and Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte, Plaza also has been helpful to Adams. It co-sponsored his 2017 Thanksgiving food drive and donated between $5,000 and $20,000 to his One Brooklyn non-profit, according to city Conflicts of Interest Board records.
One Brooklyn came under investigation at least twice by the city's Department of Investigation, which both times found that it had broken city rules.
Adams has also been supportive of the Rosatti's, nominating John Rosatti's son Adam Rosatti to become a member of a Brooklyn Community Board in 2020.
© Provided by New York Daily NewsJohn Rosatti
John Rosatti (Vallery Jean/)
Grandeau, who also works as Rosatti's spokesman, said that Rosatti has stated publicly that he is "not now, nor has he ever been a member of the Colombo crime family."
The city's Conflicts of Interest Board declined to comment on the matter, citing confidentiality.
The web of relationships between Eisdorfer, his firm, his clients and the borough president offers a peek into how Adams, who's now at the top of the field in his run for mayor, managed his affairs at Borough Hall.
Adams is by no means alone in being scrutinized for his connections to a lobbyist. Andrew Yang, another top-tier mayoral candidate, has also taken heat for his close ties to Bradley Tusk, the lobbyist who ran former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's last campaign for City Hall.
John Kaehny of the good government group Reinvent Albany said Eisdorfer's work was a lobbyist immediately after his time at Borough Hall raises red flags.
"It's basically like having a political operative on your payroll," said Kaehny. "It's an obvious conflict of interest."
But Team Adams maintains everything was above board.
"Borough President Adams and his staff were never lobbied by Mr. Eisdorfer, nor did they discuss land-use proposals or other related issues with Mr. Eisdorfer once he became a lobbyist," said Adams' campaign spokesman Evan Thies.
Lobbying records compiled by the city Clerk's Office list Eisdorfer as the "principal" for New York Capital Group. In one filing, the company notes that the subject of its influence effort is "zoning 360 Flushing Ave" and the target was Councilman Stephen Levin.
Other filings, don't provide as much detail. Grandeau, who also works as an ethics consultant and is the former head of the New York State Lobbying Commission, said those filings show Eisdorfer was simply reporting his retainer fees for those times, which he described as standard practice.
Over the years, Eisdorfer and his family have also proven to be generous political supporters of Adams.
He is Adams' biggest bundler of campaign contributions to date, according to city Campaign Finance Board records, which show he helped raise $24,650 for his former boss's 2017 borough president run. Those contributions were all bundled in 2015, a year in which Eisdorfer earned just shy of $48,000 working as community coordinator for the BP, records show.
Eisdorfer's family members also appear to have contributed to Adams. Five people sharing his last name each gave $3,000 or more to his 2013 BP run over a one-month period, campaign finance records show. That year, Eisdorfer earned $15,577 while working as a constituent liaison for Adams, who then served in the state Senate.
"It makes you wonder what exactly the guy's job was," Kaehny said. "He was on the taxpayer payroll doing what? I would like to know."
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