Lawsuit: Mayor Adams demanded oral sex in exchange for helping NYPD aide with promotion in 1993
New York Mayor Eric Adams. Credit: AP/Richard Drew
New York City Mayor Eric Adams exposed himself and demanded oral sex from a colleague in the NYPD’s Transit Bureau more than three decades ago in exchange for providing assistance with a promotion, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.
Adams has denied the allegation, saying it “did not happen.”
The suit contends that an administrative aide in the NYPD Transit Bureau, a divorced mother of two, went to Adams in 1993 after repeatedly being denied job advancements due to discrimination.
At the time, Adams was a leader in the Transit Bureau's Guardians Association, an organization that advocates for Black employees. The suit names Adams, the Transit Bureau and the Guardians Association.
“Adams preyed on her perceived vulnerability, demanding a quid pro quo sexual favor and sexually assaulting plaintiff, revealing himself not to be the 'guardian' he purported to be, but a predator,” the suit states. “The effects of that sexual assault, betrayal, and astonishing abuse of power, continue to haunt plaintiff to this day.”
City Corporation Counsel Sylvia O. Hinds-Radix said: “The mayor fully denies these outrageous allegations and the events described here; we expect full vindication in court. Additionally, in 1993, Eric Adams was one of the most prominent public opponents of the racism within the NYPD, which is why the suit’s allegations that he had any sway over promotions of civilian employees is ludicrous.”
The suit alleges Adams drove the woman who has filed the lawsuit to a vacant lot near the Hudson River and demanded oral sex in exchange for helping her with a promotion. When the woman refused, she said Adams exposed himself and put her hand on his genitals and then performed a sex act on himself, the suit contends.
Megan Goddard, the woman's Manhattan-based attorney, said her client “knew that filing this lawsuit would cause her significant personal challenges but she did so nevertheless, because she believes sexual abusers must be held to account, no matter who they are.”
Newsday does not name alleged victims of sexual abuse without their consent.
The woman, who now lives in Florida, is seeking unspecified damages. She first filed a notice of claim in November under New York State’s Adult Survivors Act, which temporarily extended the statute of limitations to sue for sexual misconduct.
Adams said at that time that he did not remember the woman and that what she accused him of “absolutely did not happen.”
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
