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high-ranking aide to Mayor Eric Adams awarded a lucrative lease to billionaire Alexander Rovt, reportedly overriding the results of a competitive bidding process earlier this year. Jesse Hamilton, New York's deputy commissioner of real estate services, gave the lease to Rovt after AmTrust Realty had won the bid to provide office space to the city's Department for the Aging. Hamilton instructed his staff at the Department of Citywide Administrative Services to halt communications with AmTrust, citing concerns that Department for the Aging commissioner Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez favored moving her agency to Rovt's 14 Wall Street.

    The deal was worth tens of millions of dollars and was awarded despite city procurement rules prohibiting employees from interfering in the bidding process. Hamilton has a long history with Adams, having been tapped as his successor when he left the state Senate and later hired as a DCAS lawyer before being elevated to his current role. Hamilton is one of several mayoral officials under investigation for their involvement in leasing commercial properties.

    Rovt, a prominent mayoral donor, has given tens of thousands of dollars to Adams' campaigns and a nonprofit he oversaw as Brooklyn borough president. The Rovt family has also donated to Adams' legal defense trust amid federal investigations into his ties to Turkish diplomats and businesses. A Manhattan community board recommended approval for the lease, but later expressed concerns after reporting by The City drew attention to Rovt's ownership of the building and Hamilton's role overseeing leasing.

    The City Council has authority to call the lease up for review and can reject it via a two-thirds majority vote. Council member Lincoln Restler has scheduled a hearing next week on DCAS leasing, calling the allegations "extremely disturbing" and demanding a swift investigation by appropriate authorities.