Tim Pearson, a top aide to Mayor Adams who has been ensared in the federal probes roiling City Hall, is no longer in charge of migrant contracts, Adams said at a press briefing Tuesday.
The news comes after Pearson’s communications with Adams’ asylum seeker operations director, Molly Schaeffer were subpoenaed last week by federal authorities. Schaeffer, a 10-year city government veteran tapped in April 2023 by Adams to lead his Office of Asylum Seeker Operations at City Hall, was served with the subpoena at her home in Brooklyn as part of a corruption investigation, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Chief of Staff Camille Joseph-Varlack will now oversees the migrant contracts, the mayor said Tuesday. Peasron runs a city government entity created by Adams called the Mayor’s Office of Municipal Services Assessment.
“The chief of staff is evaluating whatever new operations we want to put in place, what learning experience we have, whatever new oversight, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” Adams said.
Pearson, along with several top aides to the mayor, had their homes raided and electronics seized by the FBI earlier this month as part of wide-ranging corruption probes. No one has been charged in connection with any of the investigations.
Pearson has also been hit with several lawsuits accusing him of sexual misconduct and retaliation, and is also facing a Department of Investigation probe into a physical confrontation he had with a security guard at a migrant shelter last year.
One of the lawsuits included a reference to a comment Pearson, a former NYPD inspector and longtime friend of Adams, allegedly made when he was angry a migrant shelter planned for Orchard Beach was called off. “People are doing very well on these contracts. I have to get mine,” Pearson allegedly said. “Where are my crumbs?”
Adams praised Pearson’s work Tuesday.
“The goal is to make sure we save taxpayers’ dollars, and I think we’ve done a great job of bringing down that cost,” Adams said. “When we instituted, before the budget, a 30% peg of bringing down the cost, because we wanted to bring down the cost of those migrants and asylum seekers’ contracts.”
Pearson’s change in duties comes at a tumultuous time for City Hall: Schools Chancellor David Banks announced his resignation on Tuesday, Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan stated his plans to step down on Monday, and Police Commissioner Edward Caban and Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg have both stepped down in recent weeks after the investigations were made public.
“Working in government is hard, folks,” Adams said Tuesday in response to a question about whether he was concerned more officials would resign. “You know, it’s hard when you work in government, but you give your heart and you walk away feeling as though you accomplished something.”
