A longtime aide of New York City Mayor Eric Adams is under scrutiny over a lucrative lease he reportedly gave to a billionaire mayoral donor after taking it away from the initial landlord. Jesse Hamilton, who is New York City’s deputy commissioner of Real Estate Services, allegedly gave the lease to the billionaire after a real estate company had already won the bidding to provide space for the city’s Department of Aging.
The deal was reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars. The City Council met Tuesday, Oct. 29 to discuss Hamilton’s role in the deal and another warehouse deal in the Bronx.
Hamilton is promoting the new Bronx Logistics Center, which was funded by a real estate firm that has employees who contributed thousands of dollars to both of Adams’ mayoral campaigns.
Hamilton is one of several Adams’ aides under investigation as part of a probe into the city’s leasing of commercial properties. His history with Adams includes Adams naming him as his successor in 2014 when he left the state to run for Brooklyn borough president.
Hamilton lost the seat four years later, but Adams hired him as a city lawyer before promoting him to his current role. The deputy commissioner has not commented on his involvement in any of the deals in question at this time.
