NYC advocates demand ‘Hochul, Dump Adams’

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The City Hall saga continues this week as some advocates and elected officials publicly denounced Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul, and President Donald Trump. Others were content to let conflicts between the powers-that-be play out in court or at the polls in this year’s mayoral election.

To recap, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been seeking to drop federal corruption charges against Adams since Feb. 10 so he can assist in carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown. This unusual move has drawn a barrage of criticism, especially since their terms indicate that the charges could be resumed after the mayoral election concludes in November 2025.

In response, protesters flooded the streets to demand that Hochul remove Adams from office using an inability committee, which is a rule in the city charter designed to determine whether a mayor is physically or mentally incapacitated. The rule was created when former Mayor Ed Koch had a stroke in the late 1980s. Hochul pivoted, proposing that an oversight committee for Adams be created instead.

“I was elected by the people of New York City and its working-class communities to uphold their values — and that is what our administration has done,” said Adams in a statement. “While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong. I look forward to continuing those conversations.”

Ariama C. Long photos

On Feb. 20, Adams faced federal Judge Dale E. Ho, an appointee of former President Joe Biden who is slated to decide whether to grant the DOJ’s request to dismiss the corruption charges. Interested in hearing both sides, Ho appointed former Solicitor General Paul Clement to serve as a friend of the court to evaluate the case and the DOJ’s dismissal. Ho was generally commended for not simply going along with federal pressure to drop the case.

“New Yorkers deserve to know which of our rights and freedoms Eric Adams sacrificed to save his number-one priority: himself,” said Brooklyn Senator Zellnor Myrie, a mayoral candidate. “I hope that this appointment will lead to those answers and a just outcome.”

Myrie added that while the city waits for the judge’s ruling, there’s a lack of leadership that cannot be ignored. “New York City needs a mayor who will not think twice when it comes to standing up for what’s right,” said Myrie.

In an attempt to beat the chorus of allegations that he was “silent on Trump,” Adams announced on Feb. 21 that his administration was suing the president for unlawful seizure of more than $80 million ($80,481,861.42) the city had received in migrant funding from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The funds were disbursed on Feb. 4 and then removed from a city bank account on Feb. 11 without notice of any kind, said the city. The federal government belatedly provided the city with a “noncompliance” letter on Feb. 19.

Some organizations, like New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and New York Communities for Change (NYIC), were not swayed by Hochul’s or Adams’s attempts at appeasement. Over the weekend, protesters again took to the streets at Washington Square Park in Manhattan and marched down Broadway to City Hall.

NYIC President and CEO Murad Awawdeh said that the “issue is Eric Adams alone,” not putting constraints on the city’s leadership. “Since the beginning of his case, we believe that everyone in this country deserves due process — including him — and we did not call on him to resign because he was indicted, but what has happened and transpired since with this agreement that he has taken with the Trump administration to become his puppet here is unacceptable” said Awawdeh at the rally. “That’s not serving the best interest of New York City residents.”

Councilmember Alexa Aviles, who chairs the City Council’s immigration committee, said Adams “bamboozled” New Yorkers by leaning into a working-class narrative and has produced little more than budget cuts to city services and education over the last few years while scapegoating immigrants. “What he produced was for his real estate friends and his nightlife while New Yorkers continued to struggle,” Aviles said. “He has now done the last straw, and in a clear memo, you see that Eric Adams had traded immigrant New Yorkers to save himself.”

There’s also a prevailing sentiment among many that New Yorkers should just vote on who leads the city in the mayoral election in the coming months. As of Feb. 25, petitioning season to get a candidate’s name on the ballot is underway. The primary to elect the Republican and Democratic nominees will be held on June 24, 2025.

“I think it’s a political hot potato,” said Shontell Smith, a legal expert and partner at Tusk Strategies, at a panel hosted by Vital City and Jelani Cobb, dean of the Columbia Journalism School (CJS) on Feb. 25.

Smith said Hochul basically punted the issue of controlling Adams to the legislature and whether New York State Attorney General Letitia James gets involved with the DOJ’s case is up in the air.

“I think there’s hesitancy in doing something outside of the will of the people,” said Smith. “The primary is gonna be in four months? Basically, let New Yorkers decide. Why would politicians get involved? There’s no win in this situation. They’re gonna be people of color that feel that you’re targeting him because he is a mayor— a sitting mayor that is a person of color. There are gonna be people that think that the legislature is overstepping the legislative authority, and also it’s just unpopular. He’s already polling not so well, so why do anything and [not] just let the political process play out?”

This is made all the more complicated by former Governor Andrew Cuomo jumping into the mayoral race at the last minute. Many were also quietly hoping Speaker Adrienne Adams would do the same, and give both Adams and Cuomo a run for their money. Her office said that “calls” were being made, but no serious campaign had been set up.