Deep Concerns in Adams’ Administration
NEW YORK — Several deputy mayors to Eric Adams voiced deep concerns to him about the direction of his administration during a Friday night meeting at his official residence of Gracie Mansion.
The tense confab, confirmed by five people with direct knowledge of it, provided the Democratic mayor’s inner circle a chance to air their grievances about his increasing closeness to Republican President Donald Trump, who remains deeply unpopular in New York City.
The meeting led to a weekend of rampant speculation that several deputy mayors are considering resigning from their positions, several of the people said.
Challenges and Speculations
“There’s a lot of commotion with agencies, where agencies want to put out statements from the magnificent to the mundane,” said one high-ranking city official, granted anonymity to freely discuss private talks. “And then they get brought up to the mayor, who knocks them down.”
Adams’ spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus said of the Friday meeting at Gracie Mansion: “He speaks to them all day every day, and nobody has resigned.”
Following Trump’s Justice Department officials ordering the corruption charges dropped against the mayor — whom federal prosecutors indicted in September — the acting prosecutor resigned in protest. In her resignation letter last week, she laid out a quid pro quo scheme in which Adams’ freedom was traded for his cooperation on Trump’s immigration agenda.
Adams’ attorney Alex Spiro called the claim “a total lie” and the acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, also disputed the claims laid out in Daniel Sassoon’s letter.
Concerned Deputy Mayors
Among the deputies particularly troubled by the Democratic mayor’s posture on Trump’s immigration agenda is Maria Torres-Springer, his first in command, several people said. Torres-Springer could not immediately be reached for comment.
Deputy Mayors Anne Williams Isom, who oversees the city’s migrant response, and Meera Joshi, who handles government operations, also expressed discontent, several of the people said.
Political Peril and Reactions
The meeting capped a challenging week for the Democratic mayor.
After Trump’s Justice Department moved to clear him of corruption charges Monday evening, Adams sat for a Fox & Friends interview with federal border czar Tom Homan, who threatened to dial up his behavior if Adams doesn’t comply with Trump’s deportation agenda.
“If he doesn’t come through,” Homan said, “I’ll be back in New York City, and we won’t be sitting on the couch. I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is the agreement we came to?’”
Adams, who laughed during Homan’s threat, actually said he supports civil enforcements of migrants — a departure from his long standing position and a statement he quickly corrected after the sitdown.
His foes and allies privately acknowledged the interview placed him in even greater political peril in a Democratic primary, in which registered Democrats far outnumber registered Republicans.
Public Opinion and Responses
“This is the most humiliating thing I’ve ever seen happen to a New York City mayor and I’ve seen de Blasio eat pizza with a knife and fork, Bloomberg speak Spanish and Rudy wear a dress,” longtime political reporter and commentator Robert George posted on X.
The frustration even extended to the Charter Revision Commission — an ad hoc committee the mayor routinely sets up and tasks with reviewing the city’s governing document.
Richard Buery, who chairs the commission, said he opposed “any effort to amend the charter to change the city’s sanctuary laws,” according to The New York Times. His comments followed Adams’ suggestion the commission could circumvent the City Council to propose ballot amendments related to the city’s sanctuary laws.
“At this time, we should be doing everything in our power to assure that our law-abiding neighbors feel supported,” Buery said in a statement Thursday night. “That’s what it means to be a New Yorker.”
Legal Challenges and Responses
Adams sought to flex some muscle by threatening to sue the Trump administration over its seizure of $80 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds to shelter migrants — an issue made public by mayoral candidate Brad Lander, the city comptroller.
