Former Mayor Eric Adams has agreed to pay a $4,000 fine after New York City’s ethics watchdog found he used city resources to target a political opponent during last year’s mayoral race, city officials said on Monday.
The city’s Conflicts of Interest Board, an independent agency that enforces the city’s ethics laws, found that Adams violated ethics rules at an Aug. 22, 2025 press conference at City Hall. The board said he directed staffers to place multi-colored whistles on reporters’ chairs and used part of the event to aim at former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was running against him at the time.
When asked about the whistles, Adams told reporters, “First, let me answer your first part about the whistle. Many of these women here are interviewing Andrew Cuomo, and they feel unsafe. They're going to have a whistle to help them through it, okay?"
The board said Adams improperly used city time, resources and personnel for a political purpose.
In a settlement agreement, Adams acknowledged the misconduct but said he did not intend to violate the law.
