Tim Pearson, perhaps Mayor Eric Adams’ most scandal-ridden aide, resigned of his own accord and was not pushed out of the administration after the mayor’s indictment on federal corruption charges, Hizzoner said Tuesday.
Pearson, who informed Adams of his departure in a Monday night letter, was facing mounting pressure to leave his post after news broke that federal authorities are eyeing him in connection with one of several probes surrounding City Hall. His resignation is effective on Friday, Oct. 4.
At the time of his departure, Pearson was also facing four separate lawsuits over alleged sexual harassment and retaliation that took place over the last two years; and a city Department of Investigation probe into a fiscal altercation between him and migrant shelter guards last year.
Adams had long refused to push out Pearson, whom he counts as a close friend. That choice reportedly drove one of his top staffers — former Chief Cousnel Lisa Zornberg — to depart the administration herself last month.
During his weekly wide-ranging press conference, Mayor Adams denied the notion that he finally bowed to the advice of his top advisers by requesting that Pearson step down. Instead, he said Pearson — who served as one of his senior advisers overseeing contracting for migrant shelters — is leaving the administration to “focus on other aspects of his life and deal with those items that he had to deal with.”
“He made the determination that it was time to go on with that and I respect that,” Adams added.
However, a Monday report from CNN, citing anonymous sources, indicated that Gov. Kathy Hochul urged Adams to oust Pearson and other top City Hall staffers who are currently under federal scrutiny in a private call last following his indictment. Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, notably did not ask the mayor himself to resign, according to the report.
Additionally, the Daily News reported Tuesday afternoon that Adams was urging Pearson to resign through his Frank Carone, his former Chief of Staff turned lobbyist.
Although Pearson — a former NYPD inspector — was technically employed by the city’s quasi-governmental Economic Development Corporation, he actually worked for City Hall. Holding the EDC post allowed him to cotinue earning his NYPD pension while at the same time drawing an annual $243,000 city salary.
Pearson was one of several Adams administration officials to have their homes raided and phones seized by federal law enforcement early last month.
In his resignation letter, copies of which were disseminated by reporters on social media, Pearson did not mention any of his current legal troubles.
“As I look ahead to the next chapter of my life, I have decided to focus on family, self-care and new endeavors,” Pearson said in his letter. “During my tenure, I played a critical role in ensuring quality assurance for migrant services and security issues with particular oversight of shelter sites and migrant contracts, with a focus on keeping costs down for the city.”
Pearson is just the latest in a rapid string of recent departures from Adams’ administration officials since the start of September — when federal agents executed search warrants on Pearson and several other top aides. Those exits include former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban, Schools Chancellor David Banks and Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan — with the latter two slated to depart around the new year.
