Some of New York’s largest real estate developers were allegedly used to expedite FDNY building safety inspections of “friends of City Hall,” according to court documents and copies of documents obtained by the Daily News. It is said that he was placed on a mysterious list.
The list, whose existence first came to light last week amid an FBI investigation into Mayor Adams’ 2021 election campaign’s ties to the Turkish government, includes “priorities” developed by the Durst Organization, Vornado and related companies. Includes projects that require fire safety inspections. SL Green is a real estate giant that owns millions of square feet of land throughout the city, according to documents.
The document was dated June 2022, six months after Adams took office as mayor. Most of the projects on the list were able to start operations that year, but the list does not reveal who added them to the list and when.
The document, known as the “DMO List” because it was said to have originated from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Operations, was released in 2021 under then-Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration to resolve backlogs in fire safety inspections of development sites. was created for the purpose of A lawsuit filed by several former FDNY directors says the money piled up during the pandemic.
Despite its original purpose, former FDNY executives, including former Fire Department Chief Joseph Jardin, say the list quickly “put pressure on the FDNY to allow politically connected developers to shut down inspection lines.” He claims that it has become a “mechanism for applying “, especially “. “Friends of City Hall” and “People with access to City Hall.”
Jardim’s attorney Jim Walden said the list was recently released as part of a federal investigation into whether Adams’ 2021 campaign colluded with the Turkish government to funnel illegal foreign currency into campaign coffers through straw donations. He was questioned by an FBI agent about the incident. Walden added that the FBI was interested because Jardin alleges that he was pressured to expedite the approval of a fire protection system for the Turkish consulate in Manhattan in September 2021. .
The FBI was provided with a copy of the DMO list as part of its investigation, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr. Adams has not been accused of any wrongdoing as part of the investigation, but last week he asked then-Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro in early September 2021 to investigate the backlog of inspections at the Turkish consulate. Confirmed that the consulate’s fire protection system has been approved. property.
Adams, then the Democratic mayoral candidate and virtually certain to succeed Mr. de Blasio, said he contacted Mr. Nigro about the matter after receiving a request for assistance from Turkish Consul General Reyhan Özgür. .
Adams, whose cell phone was seized by the FBI during an investigation earlier this month, acknowledged contact with Nigro but said in a briefing Tuesday that the administration does not operate a DMO list.
But Adams’ FDNY Commissioner Laura Kavanaugh acknowledged the existence of the records in an interview with NBC last week, saying, “The list has always been widely shared with many people and has always been about the city’s interests.” said.
Adams spokesman Charles Rutbach declined to confirm Kavanaugh’s comments.
Adams said at the press conference that he was not aware of the list of DMOs, but defended them as helping business leaders and other constituents with fire safety inspections and other issues before city government.
“Elected officials who don’t do that aren’t doing their job,” he said.
A copy of the DMO list seen by The News is labeled “Master List – Preferred Sites” and includes a description of what each job includes, most of which is related to the acronym “Plan (FA)” for Fire Alarm System. FDNY officials said.
This list does not only include projects developed by major real estate companies. As Gothamist first reported, there are also entries to secure rapid testing for homeless shelters, a Queens preschool, and even a Taco Bell outpost.
The major real estate companies whose projects are on the list have great influence on city politics. Executives from both companies have donated tens of thousands of dollars to Mr. Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and lobbied top officials in his administration about some of the projects on the list, but it is unclear who selected the projects on the list. It remains unclear under whose government the government was. Added.
The FDNY’s lawsuit alleges that the DMO listing was created at the behest of the New York Real Estate Commission, a claim the group vehemently denies.
“REBNY has never asked the city to create a so-called DMO list,” spokesperson Sam Spokony previously told the newspaper.
Farley Post Office Building / 50 Hudson Yards
Among the projects in a copy of the DMO list obtained by The News are multiple developments in and around Manhattan’s Hudson Yards.
One of those projects is the remodeling of the old Farley Post Office building by Vornado, the city’s second-largest commercial landlord. Since breaking ground in 2016, Vornado has developed his 740,000 square feet on the building’s rooftop into office space.
Vornado could open the building in September 2022, with Facebook’s parent company Meta leasing most of the office space.
The City of Vornado hired former City Council President Corey Johnson in early 2022 to lobby Adams administration officials regarding the Farley redevelopment, according to a City Clerk’s Office disclosure. Among the officials Johnson lobbied on Vornado’s behalf are Adams’ then-chief of staff Frank Carone, who is involved in the 2021 mayoral race and is expected to lead his re-election bid. was also included.
A Vornado spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Another project on the DMO list reviewed by the News is 50 Hudson Yards, one of the city’s largest commercial office towers, developed by Related Companies.
Relations will open a glass skyscraper on Manhattan’s West Side in October 2022. Speaking at the building’s ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 19, 2022, Adams called the skyscraper’s opening “a major milestone in New York City’s continued development.” Economic recovery. “
Spokespeople for the newspapers did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Queen’s Sven Skyscraper
Queens’ second tallest skyscraper, Sven, developed by the Durst Organization, is another project featured in a copy of the DMO list reviewed by The News.
The building began leasing some of its residential units in early 2022, but other parts of the skyscraper, including retail space, remain unoccupied as of mid-2022.
Giovana Rizzo, a Durst spokeswoman, said the company never contacted Adams’ office about testing at Sven, but said the company spent months unsuccessfully trying to complete it during the de Blasio administration. He said it was over. Sven opened after Adams took over.
Other projects across Manhattan
As first reported by news outlet The City on Monday, another project on the June 2022 DMO list is Midtown’s One Vanderbilt Supermarket, developed by SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord. It was a Japanese restaurant called “Joji” located in a high-rise building.
The fine-dining restaurant has been added to the list to undergo an emergency fire safety inspection to mark SL Green’s 25th anniversary on the New York Stock Exchange, allowing it to open in September 2022, City newspaper reported.
SL Green’s public relations firm did not respond to requests for comment.
The DMO list obtained by the News also includes the Ritz Carton Hotel near the Flatiron Building and Laila, a luxury apartment building on Manhattan’s West 38th Street developed by real estate firm Rockrose. .
The Rockrose building opened in July 2022. Representatives for Rockrose did not respond to requests for comment.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel on 28th Street opens on July 26, 2022. A Ritz-Carlton representative did not respond to a request for comment.
with thomas tracy