Rome, Returns, and Raises

A blessing from the mayor who says he was appointed by God #81

My colleague Yoav Gonen broke the story this week that Winnie Greco is back to work months after her homes were raided by the FBI – and months after she went on medical leave following a medical episode during the raid. We were told at the time by administration sources that after the medical leave was up, she’d be on leave, but that apparently wasn’t true (or clearly changed.)

“She’s back,” the source told THE CITY. “Obviously, a lot of folks were like, ‘Woah!’”

And not only is Greco back at work, we found out she got a nearly $100,000 raise since last summer. 

If you don’t recall, Greco’s homes in the Bronx were raided by the FBI on the same day the offices of the New World Mall in Flushing were raided. She was already being probed by the Department of Investigation following reporting in THE CITY on allegations she tried to benefit improperly from her government position.

For his part, Mayor Adams – hours before his trip to Rome – refused to answer multiple questions about Greco following an unrelated press conference. And trust me, I tried!

To avoid answering, he instead blessed my head and prayed “Lord, please save her!” as he talked about his planned meeting with the pope. Weird, but I’ll take any blessing I can get I guess. (Dear Holy Father, please bring us a wealthy benefactor who loves local journalism.)

Speaking of that Rome trip, my colleagues Jeff Mays of the New York Times and Craig McCarthy of the New York Post are on the ground although I don’t know how transparent the mayor and his team are being about his whereabouts. The closest I’m getting is a trip to the pork store on Avenue N before visiting my parents. 

🗞️ Other interesting stories 🗞️
A wonderful profile of the flower district in Manhattan [THE CITY]
The mystery of Adrienne from Brooklyn is solved, and it’s beautiful and sad [BROOKLYN PAPER]
Sammy’s Law is law [THE CITY]
A New Yorker and his dog swept up in the City College arrests [HELLGATE]

Here’s coverage of the latest primary challenger to Mayor Adams, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie -

“Myrie’s potential bid comes as Adams faces mounting controversies that could threaten his re-election campaign.” [AMNY]

“This is going to take a lot of money and early money” [POLITICO]
A bonus Q+A in PLAYBOOK

“I want a different mayor for New York City — desperately,” she said. “One who has competence and actually understands the job. [NYT]

🗣️ LISTEN 🗣️
My colleague Gwynne Hogan was on FAQ this week (I took the week off) to discuss her amazing reporting from campus protests

I was in Madison Square Garden last night for Billy Joel’s 75th birthday concert. In his honor, here are three songs I wish he played at the show (but it was still an amazing concert!)

“A Matter of Trust”
”Scandinavian Skies”
”Sleeping with the Television On”

Sonny the dog says thanks for reading!