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Eric Adams pads cash-strapped NYC payroll with 293 'special assistants'
 [NYPOST] Mayor Adams padded the city payroll with 293 “special assistants” during his first full fiscal year in office — a more than 20% increase over his predecessor Bill de Blasio, The Post has learned.The bloated band of vaguely titled aides, accountable only to Adams, comprised roughly one-third of the Mayor’s Office staff during the yearly period ending June 30 and cost taxpayers $24.3 million, according to payroll records. Eighty-five pocketed six-figure earnings in fiscal 2023 – including 13 who took in more than $200,000. They include Edward Mermelstein, a real estate exec with reportedly close ties to sanctioned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg, former Deputy Comptroller Marjorie Lander, and Sideya Sherman, a one-time exec with the city’s Housing Authority. Mermelstein, who along with his wife Rose donated $7,100 to Adams’ 2021 campaign and post-election transition, earned $228,659 working under the unofficial title of the city’s “Commissioner of International Affairs.” The city’s website lists him as a former refugee from Ukraine even though he’s previously described himself for many years as Russian-American. Related: Mayor Adams: 2023-12-18 Over 67K migrants are living in NYC shelters - more than triple the 2022 holiday season total - as Mayor Eric Adams calls Biden's lax immigration policies 'baffling' Mayor Adams: 2023-12-11 Greg Abbott promises to keep busing illegal immigrants to New York, Chicago Mayor Adams: 2023-11-24 New York City Mayor Eric Adams Accused of Sexual Assault in Lawsuit Related: Bill de Blasio: 2023-10-23 Bill de Blasio DELIBERATELY did not deploy enough NYPD cops during the BLM protests in 2020 amid fears any clashes would embarrass him, Andrew Cuomo's ex-top aide claims Bill de Blasio: 2023-10-08 ‘Despicable': NYC Felony Assaults on Women Jump 41 Percent Bill de Blasio: 2023-07-05 Bill de Blasio and wife Chirlane McCray are separating to date other people ‐ without moving out or divorcing Posted by: Fred 2023-12-24 |
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