Mayor Eric Adams reminded metropolis employees this week “to not settle for presents and favors” — elevating eyebrows as he stands accused of illegally doing simply that.
Municipal workers are usually not allowed to just accept presents or “suggestions” for doing their jobs, presents from their subordinates that exceed $10 or presents and free attendance to vacation events or sponsored occasions from entities they’re doing enterprise with exterior the town, per the memo, shared with The Publish by a metropolis Division of Schooling staffer.
The e-mail, from Adams, the town Division of Investigation and the Conflicts of Curiosity Board, often goes out with related wording to all metropolis staffers yearly across the vacation season.
However for some, the missive learn extra like an April Idiot’s joke or article from satirical website “The Onion” — in gentle of the mayor’s historic indictment in September accusing him of accepting bribes within the type of luxurious journey in change for doing favors for international governments.
“The truth that he, together with a majority of his cupboard, is both going to be indicted or has resigned for alleged felony acts after which he has the audacity to remind lecturers to not settle for a present, due to moral impropriety, is simply the Gods of irony at work,” Forest Hills Excessive College trainer Adam Bergstein advised The Publish
Others discovered the e-mail much less amusing.
“I’m nonetheless fuming over his (Adams’) nerve to high school me on the ethics and legalities of accepting vacation presents and favors,” stated one other metropolis educator, who requested to stay nameless.
The e-mail struck a selected nerve with yr one other trainer — who pointed to it as a motive the mayor ought to be stripped of his management over the nation’s largest public college system.
Present guidelines for metropolis employees and educators
In response to metropolis guidelines, public college lecturers are restricted to accepting presents value $50 or much less over a 12-month interval. This restrict applies to any presents of worth, together with meals, occasion tickets and reward playing cards.
Some exceptions to the rule embrace:
- Items from metropolis colleagues or superiors.
- Items for necessary life occasions, like a marriage or start.
- Items associated to official metropolis duties.
New York Metropolis additionally has a $5 per pupil spending restrict for vacation presents. This rule was created to assist lower-income college students contribute to class presents. When accepting class presents, lecturers ought to be certain that:
- Mother and father aren’t requested to contribute greater than a small quantity.
- All dad and mom are given an opportunity to signal the cardboard, even when they didn’t contribute to the reward.
- The reward is shared as coming from the whole class.
“It appears ironic that, amidst the mayor’s present authorized troubles, an e mail is being despatched in the beginning of the vacation season prohibiting college students and households from expressing gratitude to lecturers,” the Queens trainer, who didn’t need to be named, stated.
“That is but another excuse why the NYC public college system shouldn’t be below mayoral management.”
Adams has pleaded not responsible to the five-count indictment charging him with bribery and corruption and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Metropolis Corridor didn’t return a request for remark Friday.
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