New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will forcibly remove Mayor Eric Adams from office after convening an urgent meeting with “key leaders” on Tuesday, Feb. 18.
Gov. Hochul said last week that she is considering removing Adams from office after the Trump administration ordered the Justice Department to drop corruption charges against him.
Hochul and other Democrat lawmakers believe the DOJ dropped the charges against Adams in return for helping them take down New York AG Letitia James and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg.
Many of Mayor Adams’ advisors have resigned after the charges were dropped. On Monday, Hochul said she spoke with four deputy mayors who turned in their resignations earlier in the day.
“If they feel unsafe to serve in City Hall at this time that raises serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration,” she said.
The governor went on to say she has the constitutional authority to fire Adams, but she said, “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.”
She added, “the alleged conduct at City Hall is troubling and cannot be ignored.”
She then announced an urgent meeting with “key leaders” in her Manhattan office on Tuesday to discuss “the path forward, with the goal of ensuring stability for the City of New York.”
“Let me be clear: my most urgent concern is the well-being of my 8.3 million constituents who live in New York City,” Hochul continued.
“I will be monitoring this situation extraordinarily closely to ensure that New Yorkers are not being shortchanged by the current crisis in city government,” she said.
