Frank Carone

Mayor of New York City Eric Adams named Carone his Chief of Staff in January 2022. Due to conflict of interest concerns in relation to his legal practice, before becoming Chief of Staff he retired from Abrams Fensterman.[1] Among the projects he worked on were repairing a stretch of waterfront on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway,[11] and in May 2022 he spearheaded[9] New York City's failed bid to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention.[11][7] Carone was also involved a deal to potentially build a New York City Football Club stadium in Queens.[9]

As Chief of Staff, Carone continued to be scrutinized for possible breaches of ethics. For example, Carone's practice of holding official meetings at private clubs and high-end restaurants attracted criticism in the press.[11][3] In May 2022 it was reported that Carone had held investments in Wrap Technologies between 2017 and 2021, and that Adams had praised Wrap Technologies' policing products during that same period. In response to arguments that Carone should have revealed his investments publicly, both Carone and Adams denied they'd conversed about the company together.[2]

Stating that he planned on serving as a chairman on Adams' 2025 re-election campaign,[11] he left his post as Chief of Staff in December 2022.[12][9] Upon retiring from Adams' administration, city law prevented Carone from directly lobbying City Hall for one year.[7] Shortly after Carone retired, New York City Council member Lincoln Restler proposed legislation to extend the one year ban to two years, with Politico writing that among lawmakers, the bill was "widely viewed as a way to limit Carone's influence."[13]

In January 2023[12] he launched Oaktree Solutions.[7] Carone was also "planning to stay involved in politics" by working with Representative Hakeem Jeffries as the politician "looks to take back the House of Representatives."[7] By March 2023, the firm represented clients such as Northwell Health, New York Giants player Saquon Barkley,[12] and the real estate company Durst Organization.[9] In 2023, Carone was working with SL Green on a bid to open a casino in Times Square.[14]