New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will not remove New York City Mayor Adams from office and announced new state and city bills that would add oversight to the mayor’s office.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul will not begin proceedings to remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office, but instead plans to introduce new state and city legislation to provide more oversight to the mayor’s office.
Hochul’s announcement on Thursday comes amid Adams’ legal woes and his recent cooperation with President Donald Trump.
The governor explained that while she has the authority to commence removal proceedings on Adams, it is her “strong belief” that the will of the voters and the sanctity of democratic elections preclude her from taking such actions.
“I cannot deny the people of this great city the power to make this decision for themselves,” Hochul said. “And to those who conclude that decision is due to pressure from any groups or individuals, I say this. You do not know me. Constant pressure is what I deal with all day long and has absolutely no bearing on any decisions I make.”
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Instead of removing Adams from office, Hochul announced a set of guardrails, which includes the addition of an independent monitor at City Hall.
More specifically, the governor proposed three immediate actions, beginning with legislation to create a special inspector general for New York City affairs within the office of the State Inspector General, who will be responsible for directing the New York City Department of Investigation’s actions.
“This will protect the city’s investigations from any interference,” she said, adding that it will ensure there is no lack of independence as they make determinations. Hochul also noted that the legislation will allow the inspector general to focus on improper activity that may come out of New York City, and report it to the governor’s office.
The second thing Hochul proposed is to give the city comptroller, public advocate and New York City Council speaker an independent authority to clarify the independent language to commence litigation against the federal government, if and when necessary, and with the use of outside counsel.
“The city’s law department will still have the opportunity to initiate legal actions within seven days of any request, but the whole of the city government should not be reliant on city hall for legal cases where the people of the city may be under attack by the federal government,” Hochul said.
Finally, Hochul proposed the expansion of funding for the office of the Deputy State Comptroller, giving the state an independent line of sight into potential decisions related to the federal government.
“Once these measures are enacted, they will be effective immediately and expire at the end of 2025,” she said.
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Following the governor’s address, Adams released a statement reacting to her announcement.
“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,” he said in the statement. “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 former police officer-turned-politician was indicted on charges linked to wire fraud, bribery, and soliciting campaign funds from foreign sources. The indictment was unsealed in September 2024, and Adams subsequently pleaded not guilty.
Adams’ fellow Democrats have accused him of trying to cozy up with the Trump administration in order to get out of his criminal charges.
Adams has denied accusations of any quid pro quo deals.
“I want to be crystal clear with New Yorkers: I never offered — nor did anyone offer on my behalf — any trade of my authority as your mayor for an end to my case. Never,” Adams said in a statement Friday.
But Hochul remains concerned about what has been happening at City Hall, according to the sources, and was waiting for U.S. District Judge Dale Ho to rule on the Justice Department’s motion to dismiss the case against Adams before making any announcements.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Diana Stancy contributed to this report.
