Mayor Eric Adams’ attempts to find favor with the new Trump administration may all be in vain. While Adams has refused to resign despite calls from elected officials and several resignations of top officials in his administration, Gov. Kathy Hochul met with key leaders on Tuesday at her Manhattan office “for a conversation about the path forward, with the goal of ensuring stability for the City of New York.” Hochul met with City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council speaker Adrienne Adams, Rev. Al Sharpton and had virtual phone or video call meetings with other figures.
Her meeting followed more resignations from the Adams administration this week, the most recent being four deputy mayors — Maria Torres-Springer, Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom and Chauncey Parker. Their departures have only further destabilized the administration’s governance, which has been in turmoil since last year.
Two of Mayor’s top deputies, Torres-Springer and Williams-Isom — both second-generation immigrants — wrote resignation letters this week. In the letters provided to the Daily News, they expressed concerns over Adams’ stance on Trump’s immigration policies, and said they couldn’t continue to serve if the city government failed to make their immigrant families “proud.”
“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,” Hochul said in a statement on Monday. “That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”
Adams refused to respond to reporters’ questions about Hochul’s decision to weigh his potential removal, the New York Times reported. “Cause you’re all liars,” Adams told the reporters as he left Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan on Tuesday, briefly posing for pictures.
But Adams is still caught between a rock and a hard place.
Today, Judge Dale E. Ho will hold a hearing in Adams’ corruption case, as Common Cause, a government advocacy group, asked Ho to investigate the Justice Department’s reasons for seeking to drop the five-count federal indictment against Adams. The action is likely to prevent a trial during the mayor’s re-election campaign, but will undoubtedly impact his political standing. Three former U.S. attorneys from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut also filed a brief Monday urging the judge to determine if the motion to dismiss was in the public interest or just a tactic to gain the mayor’s cooperation with Trump’s immigration policies.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan denied that the motion to dismiss was a tactic to gain the mayor’s cooperation with Trump’s immigration policies in an interview with CNN on Sunday. “No, I think that’s ridiculous… I don’t think it had anything to do with it,” Homan said, denying allegations of a quid pro quo.
Yet, while Homan denies the allegations, Adams agreed to give ICE access to Rikers Island last Thursday. It was the same day he met with Homan, and also shortly after the Justice Department said it would drop corruption charges against Adams.
The Trump administration, which on Friday fired over 400 DHS employees in a wave of mass firings, continues to do all it can to achieve its goals of a mass deportation. Adams himself appears willing to do all the administration requires of him to have his corruption charges dropped.
While Hochul is still deliberating on Adams’ fate, New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado — the highest ranking state official so far — has added his name to the list of those who are publicly calling for Mayor Eric Adams to resign.
