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Following his indictment on five federal charges connected to wire fraud, conspiracy, and bribery, New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D-NY) is facing calls to resign. Many officials within his administration, including former chief fundraiser Brianna Suggs, former police commissioner Edward A. Caban, former Schools Chancellor David Banks, and top aide Winnie Greco, have also been targeted by federal investigations of conspiracy, bribery, and campaign funding.
City Councilwoman Tiffany Caban (NY-D), State Senator Julia Salazar (NY-D), and State Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher (NY-D) recently called for the mayor to step down in light of these investigations.
“Eric Adams is failing at his job,” Gallagher stated. “His administration is rampant with serious scandal, and that’s a sign of poor management.”
Though Suggs, Caban, and Banks have resigned from their respective roles, Adams remains committed to his role as mayor.
“I’m focused on protecting the people of this city, and the investigations will take care of themselves,” Adams said. “[Questions on this matter are] not where my time is going to be consumed … We know what you know.”
However, it is important to note that these investigations are not Adams’ first scandals in office.
In March, Adams was accused of sexual assault by a former New York Police Department aide. The former aide stated the mayor, who at that time was an employee of the NYPD’s transit division, asked for sexual acts in exchange for a promotion she was previously unable to receive, even though she had passed promotional exams. Consequently, she filed a lawsuit against Adams for sexual assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Additionally, Mayor Adams has been condemned by many constituents for his response to the police shootings of Kawaski Trawick and Derell Mickles.
Trawick was a 32-year-old Black, queer man who was killed in his apartment by a NYPD officer in April 2019 after calling authorities because he was locked out of his home.
After the New York City Fire Department let Trawick back into his home, police officers arrived and escalated the situation by ignoring Trawick’s inquiries about them being in his home, according to ProPublica. One of the officers then used his taser on Trawick and eventually fired his gun.
More recently, Mickles, a 37-year-old Black man, and Brooklyn resident, was shot by police after he evaded paying the subway fare and refused to drop a knife from his hand.
Though NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell stated the shooting was about “a person in mental stress armed with a deadly weapon,” who was asked 38 times to drop the weapon, residents were outraged that two bystanders and a police officer were inflicted by shots aimed at Mickles. One of the bystanders, Gregory Delpeche, was shot in the back of the head and is now in critical condition.
In the shooting of Trawick, former Civilian Complaint Review Board interim chairwoman Arva Rice claimed the NYPD did not perform a valid investigation on the police officers involved before clearing them of any charges.
However, in April 2024, shortly after making comments criticizing the NYPD, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Philip Banks III, who is currently under investigation for corruption, asked for Rice to resign at the request of Mayor Adams.
In the aftermath of these events, Adams has been seen as a fierce advocate for the NYPD.
“Idealism is not realism,” Adams said in response to the subway shooting. “Policing is a very complicated series of events that unfold at a pace that is unimaginable.”
While many may have expected the Democratic Party to distance themselves from the disgraced mayor, high ranking Democratic congresspeople have repressed any criticism for Adams.
“I haven’t had a conversation with Mayor Adams about the investigation,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said. “He continues to do the best job that he can, and we’ll see what happens over the next few weeks.”
Additionally, spokespeople for Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) stated that both senators have had great experiences working with the mayor in the past.
That being said, this neutral stance isn’t helping Adams fend off any challengers. In July 2024, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander announced he would run against Adams, who is up for reelection in 2025.
“We can replace a leader when they fail the basic tests of the job,” Lander said. “The city is not failing, its leadership is failing.”
Additionally, Democratic State Senators Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie and former Comptroller Scott Stringer have also announced plans to join the mayoral race. With Adams’ approval rates being the lowest of any NYC mayor since 1996, these bids for the office shouldn’t be ignored.
So, should Mayor Eric Adams resign from office?
With administrative scandals ranging from sexual assault to corruption, as well as an extremely low approval rating, it can be assumed that even if Adams chose to stay in office, he would face intense competition from other NYC Democrats when it comes to his mayoral seat.
Additionally, though Adams may not want to resign, he could be pushed out of his seat, similar to how Rice allegedly was. However, if Adams was pushed out involuntarily, it would require the use of certain powers and processes that have never been used before, making this unlikely.
When looking at Adams’ situation and his insistence on remaining in office, New Yorkers may have to brave the storm until 2025.
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