New York City’s Political Power 50: Jonathan Rosen at #26 (and now BerlinRosen part of fund-raising probe)

From the New York Observer's New York City’s Political Power 50:

26. Jonathan Rosen, Co-Founder ofBerlinRosen
Mr. Rosen, of the PR firm BerlinRosen, is perhaps Mr. de Blasio’s best-known outside consultant—but the mayor’s relationship with Mr. Rosen and others has been gaining greater scrutiny. Mr. Rosen is not a lobbyist and as such does not have to disclose his meetings with the mayor, but his firm represents a slew of boldfaced names that have major business at City Hall. BerlinRosen also handles the mayor’s nongovernmental press, putting out his message as Mr. de Blasio continually tries to influence national politics and spinning on issues like his campaign contributions.

One of those boldfaced names Rosen represents is, of course, Greenland Forest City Partners and the Atlantic Yards/Pacific Park project.

It gets complicated

Today, the New York Post reports:

A top aide to Mayor de Blasio and a consulting firm that helped him win City Hall are under investigation as part of a widening state and federal corruption probe — all sparked by a suspected gifts-for-favors scheme involving top NYPD brass, The Post has learned.

Emma Wolfe, de Blasio’s director of intergovernmental affairs, and BerlinRosen Public Affairs are being probed by the Manhattan DA’s Office and federal prosecutors for their roles in fund-raising by de Blasio during his failed 2014 bid to help fellow Democrats take over the state Senate, multiple sources close to the investigation said.

Of course, an investigation is just that, not a conclusion, and a City Hall source told the Post that Wolfe followed the law. (BerlinRosen wasn't quoted.)

The New York Times reports:

An investigation by the New York State Board of Elections found evidence of flagrant violations of campaign finance law by a team of people that Mayor Bill de Blasio created to raise money for Democrats running for the State Senate in 2014, according to a confidential board report.
...The board’s report says that the fund-raising effort was run out of Mr. de Blasio’s City Hall and involved Emma Wolfe, his top political aide, and Ross Offinger, a fund-raiser for the mayor’s election campaign as well as the Campaign for One New York, a nonprofit created by Mr. de Blasio to support his agenda. The report also names several union officials and political consulting firms, including BerlinRosen, which has longstanding ties to the mayor.