NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams’ whereabouts have long been a source of intrigue — from his unconventional living arrangement that spilled into public view on the campaign trail last year, to his international getaways and thriving nightlife at some of New York City's swankiest hot spots.
Now Adams has turned a new, upscale Midtown restaurant into his unofficial office — taking meetings just this week at Osteria La Baia with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and recently-departed Mayor Bill de Blasio, making phone calls in between confabs and generally holding court — all while a close confidante with a checkered past keeps watch over the city’s executive.
That friend is Zhan “Johnny” Petrosyants, a restaurateur who pleaded guilty to money-laundering in federal court eight years ago. He and his twin brother, Robert, were indicted on 11 counts for taking part in a check-cashing scheme that involved medical billing companies. Johnny Petrosyants was sentenced to probation and community service, while his brother was sentenced to six months in federal prison. Together, they had to forfeit more than $1.3 million.
Adams counts Johnny Petrosyants among his closest friends: They talk frequently and spend extensive time together, dining at restaurants and hobnobbing at clubs like the exclusive Zero Bond in Noho. Adams, who sleeps just a few hours each night, sometimes stays at Petrosyants’ Midtown condo in Trump World Tower, according to five people familiar with their habits. Across the Hudson River in Fort Lee, N.J., the two own condos nearly across the street from each other.
A City Hall official described their relationship as a longstanding friendship, and said Adams — who took up residence in Gracie Mansion — does not sleep at Petrosyants’ pad.
“They were introduced by mutual friends, at a time when Johnny was in the midst of a personal crisis,” City Hall Communications Director Maxwell Young said in a statement to POLITICO. “Eric has a long history of helping people through difficult times, helping to turn their lives around, and the mutual friend thought Eric would be able to help. That continues to be the nature of their relationship — one of friendship and mentorship and support.”
“He has never lived with Johnny, doesn’t have his own space there and hasn’t stayed over at the apartment,” Young added.
Petrosyants referred questions about his connection to the mayor to his attorney, Akiva Ofshtein, who owns multiple restaurants that the twins have either managed or promoted. Ofshtein said that the mayor and Johnny Petrosyants simply hit it off more than a decade ago, and that Adams has since been a helpful friend over the years.
Since Adams’ ascension to mayor, the two have been spotted together at Zero Bond, a private club where memberships cost as much as $4,000 per year, and La Baia, a sleek coastal Italian eatery on West 52nd Street that is adorned with floral arrangements and chic lighting. The mayor attended its grand opening last November, shortly after he won his election.
On Monday night, Petrosyants dined with seven other people while Adams had dinner and drinks with de Blasio for more than an hour, POLITICO reporters observed.
The political pair was seated apart from other patrons in an empty section of the airy restaurant that has curved leather banquettes, an open kitchen and private dining rooms. The menu features a $19 house caesar salad made with white anchovies, Parmigiano-Reggiano and sourdough frico as a starter. Entrees include the $48 braised veal ossobuco served with polenta, gremolata and Cipollini onions and a $38 lobster pasta tossed in a Calabrian chili sauce.
Although it was restaurant week, patrons filled barely a quarter of the large space.
A restaurant employee told POLITICO Adams usually dines on fish and salad, even though the mayor claims he’s a vegan and wrote a 224-page book about his food regimen. “He’s not a vegan, he’s a pescatarian,” said the staffer, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the mayor.
Young said the mayor follows a strict, plant-based diet and does not eat fish. But the La Baia employee’s description of Adams menu choices matched that of a meal Adams reportedly ordered at another Manhattan eatery last summer that included broiled fish and spinach, both cooked without oil. Three people who have witnessed Adams eating out said they have seen him dine on fish.
On Tuesday, Adams returned to La Baia to sup with Cuomo, according to the New York Post, which published an account of their two-hour tete-a-tete. The former governor resigned his post in August after facing a series of sexual misconduct claims and being ostracized by the Democratic establishment. Two days later, Adams headed south to his other favorite haunt, Zero Bond, where he shared a meal with San Francisco Mayor London Breed, according to representatives from both officials.
Johnny Petrosyants, who donated to Adams’ campaign, often accompanies the mayor on these outings.
An Instagram photo from 2014 — the same year the Petrosyants brothers entered their plea deals in the federal case — shows Adams cutting a ribbon alongside Johnny Petrosyants at Forno Rosso, one of Ofshtein’s eateries. And in 2019, Adams, along with his now chief of staff, Frank Carone, defended Ofshtein’s Brooklyn brunch spotWoodland from a public backlash and mounted an unsuccessful attempt to prevent the State Liquor Authority from revoking the spot’s liquor license.
“He tried to help us out many times with Woodland because it was such a flashpoint between Park Slopers and the African American, Caribbean clientele,” Ofshtein said.
Former City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, who has spent time with Adams and Johnny Petrosyants at Zero Bond, described the two as having “a long, close friendship and relationship, which is not related to the ups and downs of political life.”
“It's important for any mayor to have close personal friends that they trust and that they don't have to discuss work with,” Johnson added. “And Eric is someone who has said on multiple occasions he doesn't judge people by mistakes they've made in their lives. He's a person who believes in redemption and a comeback and he looks for those qualities in all sorts of people but especially the people that are closest to him in his life.”
Deanna Garcia contributed to this report.
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By: Sally Goldenberg and Joe Anuta
Title: New York mayor holds court in swanky restaurant alongside friend with checkered past
Sourced From: www.politico.com/news/2022/02/05/eric-adams-restaurant-00005935
Published Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2022 07:00:00 EST
