Mayor Eric Adams admitted that he helped the Turkish consulate get approval to open two years ago despite fire concerns — saying it was simply what politicians do.
His comments came as he was grilled by the media Tuesday about details of a federal probe into his campaign, that reportedly focuses on illegal foreign donations from Turkey.
“This is what we do every day,” Hizzoner told a packed room of reporters in City Hall Tuesday.
“When the constituency reaches out to us for assistance to another agency … you reach out to an agency and ask them to look into a matter,” Adams continued, adding the only person he spoke with in 2021 in the fire department was then-Commissioner Daniel Nigro.
The remarks were the first time the mayor faced the full press corps since his phones were seized by the feds last week.
He brushed off most of the questions about the investigation, as his top attorney downplayed the FBI probe.
“To the best of my knowledge, well, first of all, it’s back. No one has been accused of wrongdoing in the investigation, to my knowledge, and there’s no indication that I’ve seen that the mayor is the target,” Chief Counsel for City Hall Lisa Zornberg said.
It was revealed over the weekend, the feds have been keying in on a series of text messages between then-Borough President Adams and Nigro after the Turkish government reached out to help get the doors open on a new multi-million Manhattan consulate.
Sources told The Post that the FDNY had deemed the building unsafe.
The fire department and the Department of Buildings came to an agreement to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy after Nigro got involved, sources said.
Adams said that his intervention in the matter was nothing nefarious, just good politics.
“If you ask any elected official in the city this is what you do every day,” Adams said adding that Brooklyn has the largest population of Turkish people in the US, outside Paterson, NJ.
News of the probe started two weeks ago when federal agents raided Adams’ top fundraiser in the early morning, searching for evidence of foreign interference in New York City’s last mayoral election.
A few days later, agents stopped the mayor on the street with a warrant for his electronic devices and seized two phones and an iPad but news of the seizure didn’t leak out into the press until Friday afternoon.
The mayor’s campaign said at the time that a review had found an individual had “acted inappropriately” but did not elaborate.
Zornberg repeatedly shut down reporters Tuesday seeking more details of the mayor, his campaign and his administration’s involvement in the probe.
City Hall officials refused to say if anyone else in the administration had turned over their devices, voluntarily or involuntarily, or who the campaign worker was at fault.
“We have the same role as the [Southern District of New York],” she said. “I can guarantee you that the US Attorney’s Office does not want their investigation playing out in the press in drips and drabs.
“We’re not going to impede a federal investigation in any way,” Zornberg said.