Mayor Says Decision Not to Release His Emails with Outside Advisers Is Appropriate

Fielding questions from the City Hall press corps for the first time in more than a week, Mayor Bill de Blasio is still on the defensive. He says his decision not to release his emails with outside advisors is appropriate, despite the fact that some of those advisers have clients who need things from City Hall. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following report.

Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to keep emails he exchanged with five outside advisors hidden from the public has come under fire from government watchdogs and others. But in his first public comments on the matter since releasing the names of his five advisers, he defended the arrangement. And he dismissed concerns raised by critics about the potential conflicts of interest at play, since several of those same consultants also advise private clients with business before the city.

"When they advise me, it has nothing to do with their clients. That is a very clear standard I hold," de Blasio said. "And these are people whose advice I have sought for a long time and value greatly. And we have handled it appropriately. But they do not speak to me about their clients."

BerlinRosen, the firm co-founded by one of the mayor's outside advisers, advised BlackStone, the financial powerhouse that bought Stuyvesant Town for more than $5 billion last year. City Hall was involved in the negotiations.

Hilltop Public Solutions, a firm where two of the mayor's outside advisors work, works for Fortis Property Group. The developer wants to rezone the former Long Island College Hospital property in Brooklyn.

NY1 asked the mayor whether his relationship with his outside advisers benefit their other work.

"I don't know how they run their businesses," he said.

Four out of five outside consultants to the mayor also make big money from the mayor's nonprofit group, which is funded through donations from real estate developers, unions and others, many of whom have business before the city.

"I think it's absolutely appropriate," de Blasio said. "The work they did was to achieve pre-k for all of our children, was to achieve an affordable housing program that will reach half a million people. I don't know what is more appropriate than that.

The mayor has said he set up his nonprofit groups to support his City Hall agenda.