New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ former City Hall official and ex-girlfriend, Jasmine Ray, received a significant six-figure salary from a taxpayer-funded daycare center while also holding a full-time position in the Adams administration, according to audited financial records obtained by the New York Daily News.
During the years she worked as the city’s “sports czar”—a position created by the mayor in October 2022 that paid an annual salary of about $161,000—Ray continued to draw a $100,000 annual salary from the Brooklyn-based Cornerstone Day Care Center, even though she was legally permitted to work there for only 10 hours per week.
Cornerstone is a nonprofit organization that relies heavily on taxpayer funding through the city Department of Education, and the daycare’s audited financial statements show Ray received the same $100,000 salary for both the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years, despite her reduced hours.
Before transitioning to a consultancy role at Cornerstone after joining City Hall, Ray had served as the daycare’s executive director, a full-time role she held prior to her appointment in the Adams administration.
City Hall permitted Ray to maintain her Cornerstone position through a special waiver granted in consultation with the city Conflicts of Interest Board. The waiver allowed her to continue working for the nonprofit while serving in City Hall, but stipulated she step down from her executive director duties and limit her daycare work to 10 hours per week.
Despite that restriction, Cornerstone reportedly kept Ray on its records under the same high-pay executive salary code even as she worked reduced hours, raising questions about the use of taxpayer-funded salaries for someone whose official city role was already well-compensated.
An attorney representing Cornerstone defended the arrangement by saying Ray’s strategic guidance and expertise justified her compensation, particularly given the organization’s mission and the children it serves.
Taxpayer advocacy groups and government ethics experts have expressed concern that the dual pay structure—particularly given Cornerstone’s dependence on public funds—may not align with the spirit of public accountability, especially when one person’s total compensation from public and public-funded roles exceeded even the mayor’s salary.
Ray resigned from her city position in September 2025, shortly before publishing a memoir detailing aspects of her prior relationship with Mayor Adams, which garnered significant media attention earlier this year.
