As news broke Monday that four of New York City Mayor Eric Adams' top deputies plan to resign over the alleged deal Adams made with the Trump administration in order to get his corruption case dismissed, calls mounted for the mayor to end the chaos by stepping down.
First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer was joined by Meera Joshi and Anne Williams-Isom, who oversee operations and health and human services in the city of more than 8 million people, in a joint statement to their staff Monday announcing that they would step down "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."
Deputy Mayor Chauncey Parker, who oversees public safety and had been involved in the mayors' plans to cooperate with President Donald Trump's deportation agenda, also announced he would resign. There are eight deputy mayors in all who help manage the city's services.
The resignations by the four deputy mayors come just days after Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced her own resignation after U.S. Justice Department officials pressured federal prosecutors to dismiss their indictment of Adams, a Democrat.
The mayor was indicted on charges of bribery, campaign finance violations, and conspiracy offenses last year, with prosecutors accusing him of taking bribes from foreign nationals.
Sassoon wrote in her resignation letter that "Adams' attorneys repeatedly urged what amounted to a quid pro quo, indicating that Adams would be in a position to assist with department's [immigration] enforcement priorities only if the indictment were dismissed."
She said he had plainly offered the Trump administration "immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal of his case."
President Donald Trump and his border czar, Thomas Homan, have launched a deportation operation in cities across the country, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement having arrested more than 8,700 people—many of whom had only committed the civil offense of being in the country without the proper documentation.
On Monday, Georgetown University law professor and former ACLU national legal director David Cole said the four deputy mayors were "profiles in courage" for their decision to leave the Adams administration.
Several New York officials said the mass exodus of half of the mayor's top deputies would be calamitous for the government of the country's largest city, and called for the mayor's prompt resignation—or removal.
City Comptroller Brad Lander said he would convene an "Inability Committee" to force Adams out of City Hall, unless he can "provide a contingency plan to the 8 million New Yorkers who rely on city services to function."
City Council member Shahana Hanif called the mass resignation a "clear bellwether" and said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul should take action to remove Adams from office.
The loss of the deputy mayors "would be an unmitigated disaster for the city of New York and everyone in it," said U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who represents constituents in Queens and The Bronx. "Adams' coercion under Trump risks significant, long-term harm to the people of New York. We cannot afford it. A [hollowed-out] city government is one emergency away from disaster."
