Former NYC health advisor who helped set COVID policies admits ...

NEW YORK — A New York City Council member is calling for an investigation into Dr. Jay Varma, New York City's former senior health advisor, after he admitted he ignored the COVID-19 policies he insisted New Yorkers follow.

Varma said Friday that at the height of the pandemic, he attended sex parties and a dance party, even as he told New Yorkers to stay away from others to stop the spread of the coronavirus. His admission follows the surfacing of a heavily edited video.

Councilman Robert Holden wants his actions investigated.

Dr. Jay Varma says he was "targeted" in hidden video

While Varma wanted New Yorkers to be strict about social distancing, he's now admitting that he wasn't. The mea culpa came after he was caught on hidden video posted by conservative podcaster Steven Crowder.

A spokesman for Varma told CBS News New York that while he held the city post, he and his wife held two sex parties in a hotel with friends – one in August 2020, the other in November 2020.

The spokesman also said his client participated in a dance party with about 200 people underneath a Wall Street bank in June 2021. At that time, he had left full-time city service and was working as a consultant.

In the video, Varma also bragged about helping to put in place mandatory vaccination rules that prevented Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving from playing basketball after he refused to get the shot.  

In a statement, Varma said:

"Unfortunately, I was targeted by an operative for an extremist right-wing organization determined to malign public health officials and take down the public health system in America. This individual has been highly discredited and he has been banned from numerous media outlets for his homophobic slurs and racist rants.

"In those private conversations that were secretly recorded, spliced, diced, and taken out of context, I referred to events that transpired four years ago. I served in City Hall between April 2020 - May 2021. During that time, I participated in two private gatherings. I take responsibility for not using the best judgment at the time.

"Facing the greatest public health crisis in a century, our top priority was to save lives, and every decision made was based on the best available science to keep New Yorkers safe. I stand by my efforts to get New Yorkers vaccinated against COVID-19, and I reject dangerous extremist efforts to undermine the public's confidence in the need for and effectiveness of vaccines."

NYC Council member calls for investigation

Holden is calling for state and federal prosecutors to get involved.

"The guy has no shame. It is disgusting," he said. "This is a very serious thing that's going on and that was going on, and that's why– what else did he do? What else did he say? What else should we have done?"

Holden also wants a full-scale City Council investigation where Varma is called to testify.

More from CBS News

Marcia Kramer

Marcia Kramer joined CBS News New York in 1990 as an investigative and political reporter. Prior to CBS2, she was the City Hall bureau chief at the New York Daily News.

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