Jumaane’s got personal Army
Anti-cop pol lives on base
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who’s running for governor, has pushed to slash funding to the NYPD and Department of Defense — yet has an NYPD security detail and lives on a US military base where he enjoys free, round-the-clock security.
The racial-justice advocate resides just off General Lee Avenue, named after Robert E. Lee, the Confederate military leader turned target of cancel-culture warriors, on the Fort Hamilton US Army Garrison in Brooklyn.
Anyone who sets foot on the base must go through security checkpoints and submit to a background check, a requirement that led to the detainment of an illegal immigrant who was trying to deliver a pizza in 2018. Even so, Williams has pushed for “stopping ICE” from enforcing the country’s immigration laws.
Why does Williams live on the base when so much of what it represents is antithetical to his beliefs? The answer, according to a rep, is housing costs: Fort Hamilton offers relatively cheap housing to a sliver of in-theknow civilians.
“When he needed a new home for his family in 2019, they chose a publicly-available unit in Fort Hamilton not because of its position on a base but because it offered the best unit for his family’s price point and criteria,” the rep told The Post in a statement of Williams, whose taxpayerfunded salary is $183,801.
Williams, his lobbyist wife and stepdaughter occupy a corner townhouse on the base with an expansive backyard and water views of the Verrazano Narrows for about $4,000 a month.
Similar properties on surrounding public streets rent for closer to $5,800 a month.
There are 228 homes at the garrison and 15 percent are occupied by civilians who have to join a waitlist to move in. Beyond Williams, other prominent New Yorkers like local judges and doctors live on the base.
The sweetheart real estate deals are technically open to civilians, but still unknown to most New Yorkers.
“These aren’t apartments listed on Zillow,” said an area official with knowledge of the housing process. “It’s essentially a gated community with stunning waterfront views protected by tanks and soldiers with M16s.”
In addition to living in perhaps the safest section of the five boroughs, Williams and his family enjoy amenities such as free parking, access to a large swimming pool, a gas station, a barbershop offering $14 haircuts, and a US Post Office. The suburban trappings are intermingled with military hardware, from historic cannons, WWII artillery and modern Humvees.
Williams’ team defended his decision to live on the base despite his beliefs.
“The suggestion that his work to protect, promote, and reimagine public safety would change with his address is belied by his record on these issues for over a decade — that work continues as he advocates for policies to advance community in neighborhoods citywide,” Williams’ rep said.
Joseph Rolland, a 53-year-old Bay Ridge resident who lives just outside the base, disagreed.
“Obviously, it’s very hypocritical,” said Rolland about the antiNYPD, anti-military politico surrounding himself with free police and Army protection. “He gets to protect himself, and yet we can’t?”