Yet another top aide to Mayor Eric Adams has resigned, this time the head of the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services (MOCS), a job the embattled mayor once described as a key player in the effort to “root out waste, fraud and abuse.”
Lisa Flores, the city’s chief procurement officer as head of the office, notified staff of her intent to leave in a brief email Friday that didn’t explain why, provide information on her successor or reveal the date of resignation, a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told THE CITY.
Flores confirmed her resignation to THE CITY but declined further comment, referring a reporter to Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communications. Late Saturday, the mayor’s press office released a statement from Flores saying she is “deeply grateful to Mayor Adams for his trust and support in transforming New York City’s procurement system into one that is more accountable, accessible, fair and transparent — one that New Yorkers deserve.”
City Hall later said her last day at City Hall was April 25 but did not reveal if she had accepted another job outside city government, quoting Flores as stating, “I am excited to begin writing the next chapter of my journey.”
Flores’ praise of the mayor on her way out the door stands in contrast to the circumstances that surrounded the resignations over the last six months of a long line of deputy mayors and top officials in the Adams administration.
Some stepped down after being targeted by law enforcement in ongoing investigations, while others put in their papers in protest after the mayor agreed to provide assistance to the Trump administration’s immigration initiative after the Department of Justice moved to dismiss his criminal case.
Those who left after having their phones seized by federal and city investigators include chief advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin, who was subsequently indicted, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and her husband, schools chancellor David Banks, Philip’s brother. Senior aide Timothy Pearson and two police commissioners also stepped down after becoming the subject of law enforcement investigations, and the Department of Buildings commissioner resigned shortly before being indicted on corruption charges that are pending.
Adams’ indictment charging him with bribery and campaign finance fraud is now in limbo after the Justice Department filed a motion last month to dismiss it without assessing the merits of the case, contending it was interfering with his ability to help the administration in the immigration enforcement that is a signature policy of the Trump White House.
The acting Manhattan U.S. attorney refused to ask the court to toss the case, resigning after describing the transaction as a quid pro quo to buy Adams’ cooperation on immigration. Days later, four more deputy mayors, including First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, resigned in protest.
Flores was one of Adams’ first appointments, announced days before he began his tumultuous tenure at City Hall.
On Dec. 28, 2021, the mayor-elect presented a dual appointment: Flores, a longtime MOCS official, to run the unit that handles the city of New York’s billions of dollars in procurement, and Marjorie Landa, a former deputy comptroller and Department of Investigation general counsel, to run his newly created Office of Risk Management and Compliance. (Landa resigned in May.)
He described the appointments as “central” to his “vision for delivering an accountable, efficient and transparent government to New Yorkers.”
“Rooting out waste, fraud and abuse in our agencies will help our City deliver for those who need it most,” he said, describing Flores and Landa as “watchdogs for our city” who will “make sure taxpayer dollars are being spent appropriately.”
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