An intruder filmed himself breaking into Gracie Mansion, the official residence of Mayor Eric Adams, and stole a Christmas ornament in a bizarre stunt just hours after the city rang in 2025, sources said.
Michael Aromando, 20, was arrested inside a bedroom in the mayoral mansion at 4:24 a.m. New Year’s Day, shortly after hopping a perimeter fence and leading cops on a short foot chase, sources told The Post.
Aromando was apparently filming himself during the brazen break-in, which was also captured on surveillance footage, the sources said.
After Aramando’s arrest, he showed an NYPD detective a cellphone video from his escapade depicting him swiping a Christmas ornament from a drawer, court documents show.
Michael Aromando, 20, was arrested inside a bedroom in the mayoral mansion. La Salle Academy
The bizarre stunt at Gracie Mansion happened in the early hours of New Year’s Day. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post
Adams wasn’t in Gracie Mansion at the time, the sources said. The mayor was in Times Square for the ball drop but City Hall reps didn’t say where he went after the annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
An officer with the mayor’s security detail cuffed Aromando in a bedroom quickly after he busted into the manse, court papers contend. He was found with several stolen items, including the ornament, the papers state.
Aromando’s last known address is an Upper East Side high-rise a few blocks away from Gracie Mansion, according to information obtained by The Post.
Aromando is out on bail and must adhere to a curfew. Zandy MangoldA building worker – as well as law-enforcement sources – confirmed a photo of a Michael Aromando from the all-male Catholic high school La Salle Academy is the young man who lived in the building.
The worker was “shocked” to learn from The Post about what Aromando allegedly did.
“He’s a nice guy,” the worker said. “I just saw him New Year’s Eve when he came to visit his mother.”
Aromando was a 2022 La Salle graduate who had been admitted to Marymount Manhattan College, according to an announcement from the high school.
Marymount representatives didn’t return a call for comment.
As a Marymount student, Aromando won a “Pi-Day” contest in 2023 by writing a paragraph using 71 digits of the mathematical constant in order, a school announcement states.
He was arraigned and released Thursday on second- and third-degree burglary charges in Manhattan court.
A judge set his bail at $5,000 cash, with an 11 p.m. curfew and condition that he stay away from Gracie Mansion.
– Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
