At a meet-and-greet on February 27, at Borough Hall, Adams invited a host of companies, including Con Edison and the National Grid, to make a plea for funding for upcoming borough-wide cultural initiatives under the auspices of an organization he called "One Brooklyn."
At the meeting, Adams underscored the importance of private-public partnerships for cultural events such as Latino Heritage Day and a Thanksgiving Turkey Drive.
"I am extremely pleased that almost a hundred institutions responded warmly to Borough Hall's vision of partnering our public and private sectors to bring resources to Brooklynites in need," Adams said in a statement.
And although the borough president's office sought funding support, according to Adams, it has not yet accepted any money.
The only real problem appears to be that Adams's office fell victim to the amount of time and mounting paperwork required to file and receive 501c3 approval— often months— and the pressure to begin an outreach campaign sooner rather than later.
"I have no lingering concerns," he said, adding he is working with the Conflicts of Interest Board to ensure all partnerships are pursued in the proper manner and that he believes DOI will "find" that nothing improper was done.
"I carry out my job with a high level of integrity, the same way I did when I was a police officer," said Adams.
"I look forward to expanding this robust vision of public-private synergy across our borough, just as my colleagues in city government are pursuing for their constituencies."
