NEW YORK — A criminally indicted Eric Adams is a politically kneecapped Eric Adams. And his political adversaries are bracing for the possibility he will soon vacate the office of New York City mayor — either willingly or by force.
On Thursday, Adams maintained his innocence and insisted he can still serve the city’s 8 million residents as he mounts a legal defense against charges he accepted illegal foreign contributions and engaged in wire fraud and bribery.
But lying in wait are five Democratic challengers for mayor as well as the citywide elected official who would serve as interim mayor and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Adams, the first sitting New York City mayor in modern history to be criminally indicted, finds himself in a state of political isolation. Black clergy and community leaders huddled around him Thursday at a Gracie Mansion news conference to show their support, but none of the state officials who usually have his back could be seen. Meanwhile, the unsealed federal indictment alleges Adams was compromised by foreign actors and cost taxpayers millions over the span of a decade.
If the mayor resigns — heeding ever-louder calls by local and state lawmakers — the city’s public advocate, Jumaane Williams, will step in as acting mayor, as mandated by the city’s charter.
If he resists the pressure to step down, he can be forced out by Gov. Kathy Hochul or a five-member committee, according to processes detailed in the charter.
If a special election is called to fill his seat, his 2025 challengers will get an earlier-than-expected chance to run for mayor. And that scenario could benefit Cuomo, who holds some sway with independents and centrists.
Democratic candidates for mayor said they are ready for whatever comes next. All of them said the city must come first.
“Eric Adams deserves to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, but I also think for the good of the city, he should step aside,” former City Comptroller Scott Stringer said in an interview with POLITICO.
The charges are grave, but “this government has been paralyzed long before this indictment,” Stringer said.
City Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and state Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani have also said Adams should resign immediately.
Lander rejected the idea that the stage is being set for a Cuomo mayoralty.
“It’s my understanding right now that Cuomo has his own perjury-before-Congress issues — not even from his old scandals of sexual harassment or sending lots of seniors to their deaths in nursing homes, or lying about it, or making $5 million in a book off it — at a moment when New Yorkers are grappling with a problem of crisis and scandal and trust at City Hall,” Lander told reporters at City Hall. “That doesn’t sound like the leadership we need.”
Perhaps setting herself apart, State Sen. Jessica Ramos, another Democrat challenging Adams from his political left, on Thursday still had not joined the chorus demanding his ouster. Ramos said Adams should leave if he is found guilty.
Williams, a progressive whose relationship with Adams has soured, similarly declined to demand Adams resign from office but issued a warning.
“It is federal officials’ obligation to prove their case, and it is the mayor’s obligation to prove to New Yorkers that there is a real plan and path to govern the city effectively and regain trust,” the public advocate said in a statement, “His time to show that plan is rapidly running out.”
The speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne Adams, is another top city official holding off on calling for Adams to step down.
Hochul, a political ally to Adams, said she would speak more about his case soon.
And as for Cuomo, his spokesperson kept it vague.
“He has previously said he has no plans to make plans and that hasn’t changed,” Rich Azzopardi said.
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