The tension around City Hall was palpable as several deputy mayors called it quits and protesters flooded the streets, demanding that Governor Kathy Hochul remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office.
On Monday, Feb. 10, the U.S Department of Justice (DOJ) told Manhattan prosecutors to drop federal corruption charges against Adams in a memo to then-acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Danielle Sassoon. Some commentators and politicos framed the move as a “quid pro quo” Adams allegedly made with Republican benefactors to carry out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which would flout the city’s sanctuary laws and policies.
Sassoon, along with five of her colleagues, opted to resign rather than follow the DOJ’s demands.
Adams kept a low profile and was largely absent from this year’s New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative (BPHA) Caucus conference in Albany over the weekend. He did make an appearance at Rehoboth Cathedral on Monday in Brooklyn, surrounding himself with devout clergy and making what some considered off-color comments.
On Feb. 17, four of Adams’ deputy mayors abruptly resigned from their positions: First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams-Isom, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker.
Groups like New York Communities for Change, Food & Water Watch, Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, Make the Road Action, Metropolitan Council on Housing, New York City Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), and New York Progressive Action Network had already quickly coordinated protests at City Hall and in front of Hochul’s office to demand Adams’s resignation. In response to the deputy mayors’ resignations, they ramped up their efforts to pressure Hochul into getting rid of Adams.
“This is a historic emergency: Trump has done a deal with corrupt Mayor Eric Adams. Adams will do anything to save himself from prison, including persecuting immigrant New Yorkers,” the coalition said in a statement. “It is like Nixon, but worse, because our institutions are failing. Only we can protect ourselves and our fellow New Yorkers. That is why organizations on Sunday joined together and several hundred New Yorkers marched. Now, we must keep the pressure on Governor Hochul to remove Adams and stand up to Trump.”
Murad Awawdeh, New York Immigration Coalition’s (NYIC) president and CEO, said, “At a time when New Yorkers cannot rely on their mayor to follow the law, others in the Adams administration must step up. Mayor Adams may view his own participation in Trump’s mass deportation agenda as a ‘get out of jail free card,’ but the actions he will be directing his subordinates to take to collude with ICE are both legally dubious and morally corrupt.”
This latest round of resignations from mainstays in Adams’s administration may be the proverbial straw to break the camel’s back, and has drawn scores of scathing calls from other electeds for him to leave.
“With the resignation of deputy mayors, it has become clear that Mayor Adams has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government, and New Yorkers. He now must prioritize New York City and New Yorkers, step aside, and resign,” said City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams. “This administration no longer has the ability to effectively govern with Eric Adams as mayor. These resignations are the culmination of the mayor’s actions and decisions that have led to months of instability and now compromise the city’s sovereignty, threaten chaos, and risk harm to our families … We have endured enough scandal, selfishness, and embarrassment, all of which distract from the leadership that New Yorkers deserve.”
“No one is above the law,” said U.S. Rep. Laura Gillen. “If you abuse the power of public office, you’re not fit to hold it. Mayor Adams has failed and betrayed New York City repeatedly over the last three years, prioritizing his own interests over those of New Yorkers. His recent actions of blatant, textbook corruption have proved once again why he should not be mayor for even one day more.”
New York State Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, breaking from Hochul’s more reserved reactions to Adams’s situation, loudly called for Adams to resign.
It was certainly hard for Hochul to ignore the abrupt departures of Adams’s deputies. Hochul said she spoke with them to express gratitude for their years of service and that their leaving “raises serious questions” about the long-term future of Adams’s administration. She decided to convene with leaders, including with Reverend Al Sharpton — Adams’s most prominent mentor — on Tuesday, Feb. 18, at her Manhattan office to discuss removing him.
“I recognize the immense responsibility I hold as governor and the constitutional powers granted to this office,” Hochul said in a statement. “In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly. That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”
Hochul added that, “Let me be clear: My most urgent concern is the well-being of my 8.3 million constituents who live in New York City. I will be monitoring this situation extraordinarily closely to ensure that New Yorkers are not being shortchanged by the current crisis in City government.”
Adams is set to face federal Judge Dale E. Ho on Wednesday, Feb., who will decide whether to grant the DOJ’s request to dismiss the corruption charges. The judge has asked lawyers to explain the abrupt change in position just weeks before an April trial.