Tech company dumps influential lobbyist, turns to schools chancellor’s brother

In late 2022, a Florida-based tech company called Saferwatch spotted a potentially lucrative opportunity in New York City: selling a “panic button” app to the city’s public schools for use in emergencies like fires or active shooters. They hired Corey Johnson, a former city council speaker turned lobbyist, to contact key officials, including Schools Chancellor David Banks and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III.

But a year later, Johnson had made little progress, and Saferwatch was operating in only five schools as a pilot program, and the company dropped Johnson as its representative. At the same time, they turned to another company that advertises “government relations,” Pearl Alliance, owned and operated by David and Phil’s brother, Terence Banks.

City ethics rules prohibit family members from lobbying. But Terence Banks has not registered as a lobbyist with a city official, which is required of anyone doing business worth more than $5,000. Instead, he runs a consulting firm called Pearl Alliance, which provides “government relations” to private-sector clients to bridge “the crucial gap between New York City’s complicated infrastructure and the political landscape.”