Mixed Messages: The Mayor’s Aide and the Ethics Mix-Up

The plot thickens at City Hall as the city council launches a probe into an ethics mix-up. It seems like Nate Bliss, Mayor’s top aide, may have had a ‘whoops’ moment. Bliss has been under the microscope after being called out for not stepping back from city business involving his previous employer Taconic Partners on January 27th 2022. Oops. It turns out that he may have misunderstood guidance from the ethics board. Everyone makes mistakes right? City council members are trying to get to the bottom of this. The committees are demanding information about properties Taconic owns and how much Bliss is getting paid. The council needs to know the details. They are the public's watchdog after all. This is all about transparency and accountability. Bliss could add a lot more detail, for example the names of the properties, but he hasn’t. We don’t know why. He is supposed to be transparent. Initially, it seemed there was no problem. Bliss was told by the Conflicts of Interest Board, or COIB, that there was no issue with him continuing to have business dealings with Taconic. But in 2022, he was told differently. It’s like he got two different responses.

Council Member Brewer is on the case. She thinks it is strange that Bliss was initially told to not quit his business dealings. She wants to know what changed in the way information was shared with COIB. She is calling for transparency. According to COIB, city officials should stay away from issues linked to companies they have a financial interest in. There must be no contact or documents shared. But here’s where it gets a bit tricky. Last year, Taconic listed Bliss as a target for lobbying as they tried to get permits for their big project, Innovation East. But Bliss says he doesn’t recall any talks or meetings about the project. If Bliss isn’t involved in any meetings or deals related to Taconic, why is this a deal? and all of us should know the answer to that question. The answer should be clear. The economic development corporation which Bliss is chief of staff, and oversee's, picked Taconic for the Innovation East project. This is a project that will turn the First Avenue lab into a massive 500, 000 square-foot life sciences hub. Council speaker Adrienne Adams’ office said the Council can by law only consider “land use merits” of Innovation East as part of next week’s vote. The council itself must approve the zoning application for the project. This vote comes at the end of a long journey.

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