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#NYC building commish Eric Ulrich speaks to investigators

“NYC building commish Eric Ulrich speaks to investigators”

New York City’s building commissioner is under investigation for his conduct dating back to when he was a city councilman — and not his current role, sources told The Post Wednesday.

Commissioner Eric Ulrich, 37, was questioned by investigators with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for more than two hours on Tuesday, as part of the criminal gambling probe, the sources confirmed. It came as a search warrant was served on his home in Queens and his cell phone seized.

Ulrich — a Republican who represented the borough’s 32nd District from 2009 until last year — has not been charged with a crime.

Sources said the year-long investigation, which initially focused on organized crime, doesn’t pertain to Ulrich’s current role as head of the Department of Buildings, a position he was appointed to in May by Mayor Eric Adams.

Ulrich, who previously served as Senior Advisor to the mayor, possibly racked up debts during backroom Ozone Park card games with mob associates, according to the sources.

During his time on the City Council, he once wrote a letter to a federal judge asking for leniency for a reputed mob affiliate, though it’s not clear if that plea is related to the investigation.

Building Commissioner Eric Ulrich, pictured in 2020, is under investigation for conduct during the time he served on the New York City Council, sources said.
Building Commissioner Eric Ulrich, pictured in 2020, is under investigation for conduct during the time he served on the New York City Council, sources said.
Dennis A. Clark

The 2018 letter, printed on official City Council letterhead, referred to Bonanno family associate Robert Pisani as “a personal friend.”

“Mr. Pisani is a kind person, devoted family man and a selfless individual,” Ulrich wrote on behalf of Pisani, who had pleaded guilty to a RICO charge of conspiracy to collect an illegal debt.

He claimed Pisani sent bagels and food to nurses at Jamaica Hospital, where Ulrich’s 3-year-old daughter was being treated after she was “severely injured in a shopping cart accident.”

Ulrich was questioned for over two hours related to the probe, sources with knowledge of the investigation said.
Ulrich was questioned for over two hours related to the probe, sources with knowledge of the investigation said.
Kevin C. Downs

“I found about his kind deed after the fact,” Ulrich wrote to Judge Dora Irizarry. “When I insisted on paying for the food, he told me to donate the money to charity. He really is a good guy.”

The mayor told reporters at City Hall on Wednesday he had no immediate plans to remove Ulrich from his $243,171-a-year post.

“Eric is still the commissioner there,” Adams said. “Number 2, this is really so early for us to be saying we should, we should, we should… The DA’s office is going to do their review, that review will determine how we move forward.”

Adams said he hadn’t spoken with Ulrich since news of the probe surfaced on Tuesday, but chief counsel Brendan McGuire had. McGuire told reporters that Ulrich passed a background check required of senior leaders in the administration prior to his appointment at the DOB.

Ulrich and the DA office have not commented on the investigation.

Gavin Wax, president of the New York Young Republican Club, blasted the building commissioner in a statement calling the former city councilman a “never-Trump Republican.”

“Mayor Adams was repeatedly advised not to include Ulrich in his administration,” Wax said. “Now we see why those words of advice were warranted. I, along with all other New Yorkers who value sound, honest government, hope for the immediate removal of Ulrich from public office as this investigation runs its course. City government should not be tainted by mafia debts and mob apologists.”

Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan and Carl Campanile

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