Head of social services, under probe, quits

City Social Services Commissioner Gary Jenkins announced Tuesday he’s stepping down from his post — months after coming under investigation over an alleged coverup of shelter system violations related to the local migrant crisis.

Jenkins (photo), who was appointed by Mayor Adams just over a year ago, confirmed his resignation in an evening appearance on NY1 after the Daily News first reported he had informed staff of his exit earlier in the day.

He said his last day will be March 3 and that he’s leaving to “explore other opportunities that have been presented to me.” He did not elaborate on that, but stressed he isn’t stepping aside due to any controversy.

“This is something I was definitely already planning to do,” said Jenkins, who worked at the Department of Social Services for years in other capacities before becoming commissioner. “I’m really proud and privileged to serve under Mayor Eric Adams ... So, no, there’s no discord, no running away.”

Molly Park, one of Jenkins’ deputies, is expected to take over as acting commissioner as Adams looks for a permanent successor, mayoral spokesman Fabien Levy said.

Jenkins is the second Adams-appointed commissioner to resign since the mayor took office last year.

The first was Eric Ulrich, Adams’ former buildings commissioner, who stepped down in November after being interviewed in a federal investigation into illegal gambling. Ulrich has not been charged in that probe.

Jenkins’ resignation comes at a perilous time for his department — and as he remains under scrutiny in a personal capacity.

This past July, as hundreds of mostly Latin American migrants poured into the city every week from the U.S. southern border, Jenkins’ department failed to find shelter beds for several migrant families within a timeframe stipulated by the city’s right-to-shelter law. Adams admitted at the time that the slip-up violated the right-to-shelter law.

A month after that admission, the Department of Investigation launched a probe into Jenkins after Julia Savel, his former top spokeswoman, accused him of seeking to withhold information from Adams’ office and the public about the right-to-shelter violations.