NYC tech chief packs a pistol at work amid Mayor Adams’ calls to curb spread of guns

New York City’s chief tech honcho regularly carries a gun to work, a decision that has left staffers concerned and questioning why he’s been permitted to do so, according to three sources who’ve seen him packing heat on the job.

Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser’s sidearm appears at odds with the rhetoric from his boss, Mayor Adams, who has bemoaned the proliferation of firearms and expressed deep concern about a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that rolled back a New York State law restricting concealed weapons.

“It sends a terrible message,” said a source who said they witnessed Fraser carrying a pistol while on the job. “It freaks people out when they see he has a gun.” The source spoke under the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.

Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser, left, and Mayor Eric Adams are pictured at New York City Hall on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Fraser’s decision to carry a gun to work also contradicts the code of conduct for the agency that previously oversaw the city’s tech infrastructure, the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications.

“Employees shall not possess a firearm or any other dangerous weapon while on or off-duty on or in Department premises, property, vehicle, or equipment,” that document states.

Under Adams, DoITT was combined with several other city tech offices to form the Office of Technology & Innovation, which Fraser now helms. The Daily News asked that the city provide it with the current code of conduct through a Freedom of Information request, but that request has not yet been fulfilled.

Fraser’s security issues came into focus recently with the disclosure that he has an NYPD security detail, sparking questions as to why he needs one and why taxpayers are footing the bill for it. City Hall didn’t dispute that the two detectives work under Fraser, but denied that they constitute a police detail.

When contacted by The News on Friday, Fraser referred questions about the gun to a spokesperson.

“You should speak to the press office on that front,” he said.

An Adams spokeswoman did not deny that Fraser keeps a gun on him, but said that he “has not openly carried since officially assuming the role of CTO.”

“Chief Technology Officer Fraser is a seasoned veteran of the NYPD and has had a license to carry for nearly a decade,” Adams spokeswoman Kayla Mamelak said.

Mamelak noted that the Office of Technology and Innovation’s code of conduct prohibits the unlawful or unauthorized possession of firearms or weapons on agency property and that the agency’s expanded role now includes a law enforcement aspect.

Chief Technology Officer Matt Fraser, right, and Mayor Eric Adams are pictured at New York City Hall on Wednesday, January 19, 2022.

Several other city government insiders said they found Fraser’s gun-toting unnerving and out of step with city government’s work culture.

Another source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation, confirmed seeing Fraser with the weapon clipped to his belt on “multiple occasions.”

“This isn’t Texas. It’s New York City,” the source told The News.

Before taking on the top tech role in Adams’ administration, Fraser served in the NYPD in a variety of capacities, including most recently as the department’s chief information officer.

A former colleague with the NYPD’s Information Technology Bureau said Fraser also carried a pistol in a side holster when he worked there — despite working there in a civilian capacity.

Adams has been outspoken in his criticism of the Supreme Court decision in June that struck down a century-old state law requiring people to have “proper cause” to carry concealed firearms. In its 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the state law violated the Second Amendment.

“When it gets in full stride — a year from now, you know, a year and a half from now, and you start to see a substantial uptick in guns and people carrying guns — it’s going to be hard,” Adams said at the time, predicting the impact the decision would have moving forward. “Knowing that you can be in Times Square, and, you know, hundreds, thousands of people can carry a weapon, then how do you police that?”

In response to the Supreme Court ruling, the state Legislature enacted laws this summer designating various locations across the state as “sensitive areas” where it’s illegal for nearly anyone to carry firearms regardless of permits.

Government buildings are among the areas that were classified as gun-free zones under the law, which Adams has vocally supported. It’s unclear how the law impacts Fraser’s ability to be strapped at work.