(Bloomberg) -- New York Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle is getting even smaller.
Tim Pearson, a controversial senior adviser to the first-term mayor, said late Monday that he would resign, becoming the fifth senior member of the administration to step down or announce plans to leave within the past month.
Pearson’s announcement comes less than a week after Adams became the first sitting mayor of New York to be indicted since the modern city was incorporated in 1898. And it’s less than a month after Pearson and other senior City Hall aides had their phones seized or homes searched by federal agents as part of multiple criminal investigations. Pearson hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing.
Pearson, whose vast portfolio included overseeing issues related to the more than 200,000 migrants who have arrived in the city in the past two years, said in a letter to Adams that he wanted to focus on “family, self-care and new endeavors.” His resignation takes effect Oct. 4.
“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 said in the letter.
Hugh Mo, an attorney for Pearson, said his client denies “any wrongdoings” and accused the media of reporting “false and defamatory allegations not supported by facts in pending civil suits” related to migrant services contracts. “Pearson is confident that once all the facts have been brought to light, these allegations will be proven to have no merits,” Mo said.
In a statement, Adams cited Pearson’s “long career in both the public and private sectors, where he has spent over 30 years keeping New Yorkers safe. We appreciate Tim’s decades of service to this city and wish him well.”
Pearson, who has a close friendship with Adams, has been a controversial member of the administration since the day he started in 2022.
When he was appointed, he was also working for Resorts World casino in Queens, the New York Times reported. That arrangement was a potential conflict of interest as casinos began bidding for licenses to build full-scale gaming facilities in New York City and its suburbs. Pearson ultimately resigned from the casino company.
Pearson has also been the subject of four sexual harassment lawsuits filed by former subordinates, claims he has denied.
Separately, Adams on Tuesday announced the appointment of former WilmerHale attorney Allison Stoddart as chief counsel for City Hall, replacing Lisa Zornberg, who quit on Sept. 14. He also said he would nominate Muriel Goode-Trufant as the city’s next corporation counsel. The person in that role — which leads the city’s law department — sits on the so-called inability committee, a group of city officials that can vote to remove the mayor.
In a departure from his typical practice, Adams appeared alone at his weekly press conference to answer questions about the federal investigation. Shortly beforehand, Brooklyn business owner Shamel Kelly told reporters outside City Hall he had been the victim of a “shakedown” by James Caban, the brother of former police commissioner Edward Caban, who resigned last month. Kelly said he is cooperating with investigators.
(Updates with appointment of new chief counsel for City Hall in penultimate paragraph.)
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