Photo: Bryan R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
In the wake of his bombshell indictment on five federal charges, Mayor Eric Adams has insisted he has no intention of resigning and that he will continue to seek reelection to City Hall next year. And while Adams is severely embattled both legally and politically, he has maintained the crucial support of a key ally: Governor Kathy Hochul.
Under the city charter, the governor has the unilateral authority to remove Adams from office. But Hochul has given no indication that she intends to wield this obscure political power. Historically, then–New York governor Franklin D. Roosevelt began removal proceedings against Mayor Jimmy Walker, who was in the throes of a corruption scandal, but Walker ultimately resigned in 1932.
On Monday, Hochul publicly expressed support for the beleaguered mayor as City Hall contends with a revolving door of personnel changes. “The mayor has been very focused. We’ve been working very closely through this chaos and I had asked him to work to bring in new blood and new people to help stabilize the city, calm it all down, and he’s doing that,” Hochul told reporters Monday at the city’s annual Columbus Day Parade. “We’re working closely together to work on the crime issues, which are going down dramatically, so we’re working together and my team is closely integrated working with his team as well.”
In the weeks since Adams was indicted, a number of the mayor’s closest advisers and appointees have exited the administration, including former NYPD commissioner Edward Caban, first deputy mayor Sheena Wright, and deputy mayor for public safety Phil Banks, with schools chancellor David Banks expected to leave his role officially on Tuesday. They were some of the employees who had their devices unexpectedly seized by federal investigators in early September.
The administration’s struggles also appear to extend beyond the Southern District of New York. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’s senior adviser, had her phone seized last month by investigators with the Manhattan district attorney’s office along with Jesse Hamilton, an employee with the city’s Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
Hochul’s support is crucial for Adams as he continues to face calls for his resignation and as speculation grows about who could potentially throw their hat in the ring if a special election to replace him is called, barring his forced or voluntary exit. Adams is already facing a crowded primary field for the pending 2025 mayoral election that includes State Senator Zellnor Myrie, comptroller Brad Lander, and State Senator Jessica Ramos.
Though Adams currently has Hochul’s backing, it’s not clear that voters agree with her position. A Marist College poll released earlier this month found that 63 percent of New Yorkers think that Hochul should begin the process of removing Adams from office. Only 36 percent said that she shouldn’t.
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