Last Monday, the Justice Department directed federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to dismiss the pending charges against Mayor Adams without prejudice and restore his security clearance. Mayor Adams delivered a speech addressing the charges, stating that he “never broke the law” and vowing to work to regain New Yorkers’ trust by focusing on running the City. Following this, Danielle R. Sassoon, the interim U.S. Attorney for the Southern District, resigned rather than obey the directive. Justice Department officials then transferred the case to the Public Integrity Section in Washington, whose two leaders, along with three other lawyers in the unit, also resigned. Federal prosecutors have now filed a motion to formally drop the corruption charges. The judge overseeing the case must now either approve or deny the motion.
As a local response to these events, four Deputy Mayors of the Adams administration have submitted their resignations, only days after the Justice Department officially asked a court to dismiss federal corruption charges against Adams. 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 Chauncey Parker all announced their plans to step down in formal statements: “Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles.” They are all expected to leave in the coming weeks. The departure of the Mayor’s Deputy Mayors will likely dilute the Administration’s ability to advance signature initiatives and advance City priorities with the City Council and State legislature. It is important to note that to date, no agency heads have announced similar intentions, indicating that the core functions of City government will carry on.
The departure of the Deputy Mayors has raised concerns within the City. Some political observers suggest that the changes signal challenges for the Mayor, as members of his senior administration appear uncertain about his ability to govern independently from the new Trump administration. Other elected officials, such as NYS Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado, NY State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, NY State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris, NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, have called for the Mayor to resign. Governor Hochul is reportedly considering exercising her power to remove the Mayor, which would require providing him with a “copy of the charges and an opportunity to be heard in his defense” per the City Charter. In a statement, Hochul acknowledged that “alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.” She is convening a meeting with “key leaders” in Manhattan today before issuing a decision.
Because this is such an unprecedented set of circumstances, there is no clear path forward. The below chart outlines the sequence of electoral events if the Mayor resigns or is removed.
