Probation Commissioner Juanita Holmes received a dressing down Tuesday from First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro over her leadership of the agency, which is coming under mounting scrutiny amid allegations of cronyism and mismanagement, the Daily News has learned.
Mastro, Mayor Adams’ influential top deputy, didn’t mince words during the meeting Tuesday afternoon at City Hall with Holmes. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Kaz Daughtry was also present, as was Holmes’ Department of Probation general counsel, Bridget Hamblin, sources with direct knowledge of the sit-down told The News.
One of the sources, who like the others spoke on condition of anonymity, said Mastro instructed Holmes to “fix” her agency because “you’re an adult, you’re a commissioner and this is your place.”
“We can’t have any more problems, you need to work with your peers,” Mastro said, according to the source’s description.
“Everything you’re doing is in the Daily News,” Mastro added.
The News has broken a string of stories about Holmes’ leadership of Probation in the past 10 days, including the news that Holmes sidelined Chief Information Officer Razwan Mirza after he wouldn’t support her hiring her niece, Demmi Slaughter, to a senior technology role in the agency. Mirza has since landed a job at City Hall.
The News also reported that the rearrest rate of probationers — a key agency indicator — has climbed during her tenure despite Holmes’ claims to the contrary. Earlier, the city comptroller’s office restricted one element of the agency’s procurement ability after it sidestepped rules to buy Holmes’ taxpayer-funded $87,000 SUV.
On Tuesday, The News reported Holmes moved to underscore policies aimed at controlling the flow of information, issuing warnings to employee on talking to the media, barring use of thumb drives in the office, and requiring authorization to enter the agency’s human resources section.
The reports followed a contentious City Council hearing July 28 in which complaints from Probation staffers about Holmes’ leadership were aired, including allegations that she has hired friends and relatives to senior positions while pushing out those speaking out against her moves.
The hearing led last week to a call from Council Member Sandy Nurse for an outside audit, a move Holmes aides later said she would welcome.
“Mastro is running City Hall and if he’s bringing in the commissioner to talk to her I think that’s progress but we’ll see what happens,” Nurse told The News on Wednesday.
In a statement, Probation spokeswoman Regina Graham declined to reveal contents of the meeting, but said it was not unusual for top City Hall officials to meet with Holmes, who first got tapped as commissioner by Adams in March 2023.
“Commissioners regularly meet with City Hall leadership – including the deputy mayor they report directly to – to discuss agency’s business and projects in their department,” she said.
“First Deputy Mayor Mastro and Deputy Mayor Daughtry remain in constant communication with the all public safety commissioners, as they have been throughout this administration.”
Zachary Nosanchuk, a spokesman for the mayor, said, “City Hall leadership meets regularly with our agency commissioners to strategize, collaborate, and support ongoing projects and issues. We do not discuss the contents of private meetings, but they are always focused on how to best serve New Yorkers.”
The sources who spoke to The News said the overall message to Holmes in the City Hall sit-down was to get her house in order, with little time spent on specifics. The sources said the meeting ended with a plan for Daughtry, who’s Holmes’ direct supervisor, to take a more hands-on-role.
One source said the plan going forward is for Daughtry to “mediate” between Holmes and her staff on certain issues of concern.
The Probation Department disputed that, though, saying Daughtry “has several commissioners who report directly to him and does not play a direct role in between Commissioner Holmes and her staff.”
Earlier Tuesday, hours prior to the City Hall sit-down, Holmes made a series of personnel moves, including sending at least two of Mirza’s former aides to the Bronx, and shifting two other tech employees to another supervisor, the Probation sources said. Graham, however, said no official moves have been made following Mirza’s departure.
In a separate development, The News has learned that ex-NBA star Jayson Williams has pulled out as a keynote speaker at the American Probation and Parole Association national conference Aug. 24 to Aug. 27 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square.
It’s unclear if Williams’ decision has anything to do with the current controversy at Probation, though sources said it is being seen internally as a setback. Probation has a major role in the conference and is sponsoring an evening Circle Line cruise and a dinner at a Midtown steakhouse Monday as well as a “golden anniversary celebration” the same day Williams was scheduled to speak.
Williams’ conference bio remained online Wednesday, but APPA Executive Director Veronica Cunningham confirmed Williams’ withdrawal. Jessica Jackson, a lawyer and CEO with the activist group REFORM Alliance, is speaking in his place.
“Occasionally, confirmed speakers cancel, and we have never inquired about their reason for canceling,” Cunningham said in an email.
Probation spokeswoman Graham said, “The Department of Probation does not decide who the opening speaker will be for any APPA event including those hosted in NYC. Those decisions are made by APPA. However, Jayson Williams can no longer attend due to a scheduling conflict.”
A rep for Williams couldn’t be reached.
Originally Published: August 20, 2025 at 11:02 AM EDT
