Other New York political hands fret that his relationships will tarnish his image, while distracting from the work at hand - resurrecting New York City from the throes of the pandemic. Adams’s embrace of friends and appointees with less-than-scrupulous records risks attracting unwelcome scrutiny, which dogged his predecessor, Bill de Blasio. Benjamin’s fund-raising practices had already publicly emerged.
Hochul named him her lieutenant governor in August, concerns about Mr. Kathy Hochul’s second-in-command, Brian Benjamin, resigned after being indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and falsification of records while he was a state senator. The importance of making careful appointments was underscored this month when Gov.