Turkish Consulate at Heart of Mayor Adams Case Got Special Treatment, Review Finds

The Turkish Consulate at the center of the federal charges against Mayor Eric Adams was the only building of its size allowed to open without a required fire safety certification, according to an investigation the city comptroller released on Wednesday.

The investigation found that the $300 million, 35-story building in Manhattan was granted a dozen temporary approvals over three years and is operating without a certificate of occupancy.

The indictment against Mr. Adams accuses him of pressuring the Fire Department to allow the building to open in 2021, despite defects in its fire safety system, in time for an opening ceremony with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Prosecutors have said that the mayor accepted luxury travel worth more than $100,000 and illegal campaign contributions in exchange for his help with the consulate, which occurred after he had won the Democratic mayoral primary but before he was elected mayor.

The comptroller, Brad Lander, is running for mayor against Mr. Adams. His investigation, detailed in a 34-page document, did not mention Mr. Adams by name, except for one reference to his indictment. But Mr. Lander said in a statement that city officials had put public safety at risk.

“By rushing to allow the opening of Turkish House in advance of a ribbon-cutting ceremony with President Erdogan,” Mr. Lander said, the Buildings Department and Fire Department “cut serious corners that could have compromised the safety of the occupants and neighbors of the building.”

Mr. Adams, a Democrat who took office in 2022, has maintained that he has done nothing wrong and sought to play down the charges against him, arguing that he often helped constituents in his former role as Brooklyn borough president. He has pleaded not guilty and will go on trial in April.

The mayor’s office and his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Andrew Rudansky, a spokesman for the Buildings Department, said in a statement that the agency was focused on safety, but he did not address the comptroller’s concerns directly.

“We treat the safety of our fellow New Yorkers as a top priority, and if any member of the public has safety concerns about a building, they are strongly encouraged to file an official 311 complaint, so that we can investigate the issue,” he said.

Mr. Lander’s investigation focused on the issuance of certificates of occupancy, which certify that a new building conforms to city rules and safety regulations. It found that the Turkish Consulate, known as Turkevi Center, was issued a series of temporary certificates of occupancy, with the most recent one expiring in October.

Six other mixed-use office buildings with 20 stories or more that had expired certificates of occupancy were not given waivers like the one the Turkish Consulate received. Mr. Lander called the special treatment a “troubling breach of process.”

The comptroller also found broader concerns that 637 other office buildings did not have valid certificates of occupancy, including 88 buildings that were characterized as “immediately hazardous.”

Mr. Lander sent a letter to Robert Tucker, the fire commissioner, and James Oddo, the building commissioner, urging them to address the concerns. The letter made one reference to Mr. Adams’s indictment and how it had raised questions about the Turkish Consulate’s safety.

Mr. Lander, a progressive Democrat, has been a fierce critic of the mayor, and Mr. Adams has often expressed frustration with Mr. Lander.

After Mr. Adams won the Democratic mayoral primary in July 2021, he contacted then-Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro and urged him to allow the Turkish government to occupy the building at least on a temporary basis. At the time, Mr. Adams was widely expected to win the general election in November and become mayor in January.

The Fire Department allowed the Buildings Department to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for the building on Sept. 17, 2021, just three days before the ribbon cutting. The first Fire Department inspection did not take place until more than a month later, on Oct. 26, according to the comptroller’s investigation.

The building still has several violations related to its glass facade and elevator testing, the comptroller found.

Mr. Adams was charged in September with five counts, including bribery and fraud. He was also accused of conspiring with Turkish officials to receive illegal foreign campaign donations.

A businessmen accused of making illegal donations to the mayor’s campaign was expected to face a criminal charge and wishes to plead guilty, federal prosecutors said last month. The businessman, Erden Arkan, has close ties to New York’s Turkish community.