Deputy Mayor Phil Banks was serving as the NYPD’s chief of department at the time of Garner’s death, but instead of being in the Big Apple for what proved to be the historic aftermath of Garner’s arrest, Banks was in Los Angeles hobnobbing with two men who’d later be convicted on corruption charges.
Mayor Adams is putting his younger brother in charge of his security detail, backing off a previous push to install him in a high-ranking NYPD post but the switch up did not mollify government watchdogs concerned that the intra-family hire flies in the face of city ethics law.
The lawsuit, spearheaded by Staten Island Borough President Vito Fosella and New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy, charges that the city’s recently-enacted noncitizen voting law “directly conflicts“ with the state Constitution, which holds that “every citizen” has the right to vote.
Lewis-Martin served as deputy borough president during Adams’ tenure as Brooklyn borough president a job which essentially had her acting as his right hand and it appears her new role will give her considerable influence in City Hall as well.