New York City Mayor Eric Adams arrives for a court hearing at Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in New York City on Feb. 19, 2025.
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez | Getty Images
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she will not remove embattled and indicted New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office “at this time,” saying she would not usurp the right of voters to decide whether he remains their mayor.
But Hochul announced a plan to impose a series of measures on her fellow Democrat’s administration.
She said those measures are designed “to stabilize the city and restore calm … ensure that all services for our residents continue without disruption,” and “make sure our leaders are operating only with the city’s best interest in mind, unimpeded by any legal agreements with the Trump Justice Department.”
As she did so, Hochul suggested Adams had become beholden to President Donald Trump, whose Department of Justice is seeking the dismissal of a federal criminal case against the mayor.
“After careful consideration, I have determined that I will not commence removal proceedings at this time,” Hochul said at a news conference about Adams, who was indicted last year on corruption charges.
“My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and sanctity of democratic elections preclude me from any other action,” the governor said.
“To move this city forward, I am undertaking the implementation of certain guardrails that I believe are a first start toward re-establishing trust for New York City residents,” Hochul said.
“These proposed guardrails will help ensure that all decisions out of City Hall are in the clear interests of the people of New York City and not at the behest of the president.”
Hochul said she was creating the new position of special inspector general for New York City affairs, who will be empowered to receive updates and information from the city’s Department of Investigations about corruption investigations and be able to direct DOI to commence investigations across city government.
The governor also said the city’s charter will be revised to prevent a mayor from terminating the city’s commissioner of investigation without approval by the state inspector general.
Hochul also said the city’s Council, comptroller and public advocate will be given explicit authority to sue the federal government using outside attorneys if the city’s Law Department declines to initiate such litigation.
And she said that as a result of a slew of executive orders and other actions by the Trump administration, she would propose additional funds for the city comptroller’s office to help that office monitor the city and its finances.
Adams in a statement later said, “I was elected by the people of New York City and its working-class communities to uphold their values — and that is what our administration has done.”
“While there is no legal basis for limiting New Yorkers’ power by limiting the authority of my office, I have told the governor, as we have done in the past, that I am willing to work with her to ensure faith in our government is strong. I look forward to continuing those conversations,” the mayor said.
The governor on Tuesday held a series of meetings with political figures to discuss Adams’ fate.
A day earlier, four New York City deputy mayors announced they had resigned, a move that Hochul said “raises serious questions about the long-term future of this Mayoral administration.”
Since being indicted, Adams has sought to curry favor with Trump, a Republican widely unpopular in the heavily Democratic city.
The Department of Justice last week asked a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to dismiss the case.
The judge, Dale Ho, conducted a hearing on that request Wednesday but ended it by saying he would rule later.
Seven federal prosecutors, including the interim Manhattan U.S. Attorney, resigned in protest of an order by a top DOJ official to dismiss the case.
The DOJ argues that the dismissal is necessary to avoid harming Adams’ ability to cooperate with the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies and his ability to seek reelection this year.
But if the case is dismissed without prejudice, as the DOJ has requested, prosecutors would have the right to refile criminal charges against Adams if they choose.
Adams last week agreed to allow federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents onto Rikers Island, the city’s largest jail complex.