Governor Kathy Hochul is meeting with New York City leaders today in her midtown office amidst calls for Mayor Eric Adams to step down, after four deputy mayors in his administration resigned on Monday. According to New York State law, the governor has the power to remove the mayor of the city, a power which has never been exercised but that Hochul is nonetheless considering, according to a statement released from her office on Monday night.
“I recognize the immense responsibility I hold as governor and the constitutional powers granted to this office,” the statement reads. “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 is reportedly holding a series of one-on-one meetings with city leaders, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, City Comptroller Brad Lander (who is also a candidate for mayor), and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, among others. Both Lander and Speaker Adams have publicly called for the mayor to resign.
Mayor Adams’ fate as a politician has been the subject of much discussion and controversy since federal authorities indicted him on corruption charges last fall. Longtime allies in his inner circle who held the highest positions in city government were ensnared in the investigation, leading to over a dozen resignations from top officials within a month of his indictment at the end of September. Indeed, three of the four officials whose resignations were confirmed yesterday – First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services Anne Williams Isom, and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker – had all replaced officials who left City Hall after the federal indictment was announced. Deputy Mayor for Operations Meera Joshi, who is also resigning, joined the Adams administration in 2022.
Just last week, the Justice Department dropped its federal corruption case against Mayor Eric Adams, saying that his cooperation on Trump’s plan to deport more than 10 million undocumented migrants was too important for him to be “unduly restricted” by his upcoming trial, which would have started in April. The indictment was dropped without prejudice, meaning that the charges could be brought up again at any point. Several federal prosecutors refused to carry out the DOJ order and resigned, including the acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Danielle Sassoon, who stated in her resignation letter that she was witness to a meeting where Adams’ lawyers “repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with the department’s enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed.” In a statement released last Friday, Adams said “I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never.”
As of last night, the embattled mayor of New York City has maintained that he has no intention of resigning. His official X account has a post pinned to the top of the page from two days ago that reads: “Through all the negative headlines, rumors and criticism, I have remained clear: I’m not stepping down, I’m stepping UP.”
