The push by the speaker, Adrienne Adams, a Democrat, signals the mayor’s loss of his principal partner in government.
The push by the speaker, Adrienne Adams, a Democrat, signals the mayor’s loss of his principal partner in government.
The push by the speaker, Adrienne Adams, a Democrat, signals the mayor’s loss of his principal partner in government.
Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York City Council and one of Mayor Eric Adams’s principal partners in government, said on Monday that the mayor should resign.
Ms. Adams’s repudiation of the mayor came just hours after four of his eight deputy mayors announced they would leave City Hall, a catastrophic loss to an administration already hobbled by scandal, a corruption indictment and a growing sentiment that the mayor placed his own interests ahead of New York City’s.
“With the resignation of deputy mayors, it has become clear that Mayor Adams has now lost the confidence and trust of his own staff, his colleagues in government, and New Yorkers,” Ms. Adams, who is not related to the mayor, said in a statement. “He now must prioritize New York City and New Yorkers, step aside and resign.”
The mayor’s loss of support from Ms. Adams, a fellow Democrat who holds the second most powerful position in city government, may be a near-death blow to Mr. Adams’s ability to govern. Even before her announcement, Brad Lander, the city comptroller, expressed concern that Mr. Adams might be unable to continue running the city.
Mr. Lander, one of several Democrats challenging Mr. Adams’s bid for re-election in the June primary, sent a letter to Mr. Adams on Monday calling on him to create a contingency plan to run the city because of the administration’s “unprecedented leadership vacuum.”
If the mayor does not create such a plan by Friday, Mr. Lander said he would convene a committee to remove Mr. Adams on the basis of his inability to govern.