No NYC mayor has resigned in decades. But here’s what would happen if they did.

Editor’s note: We originally wrote this story on Nov. 22, 2023. In light of the federal indictment of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, we thoroughly updated it on Sept. 26. 2024.

From Koch to Dinkins to Bloomberg to de Blasio, every mayoral administration over the past 45 years has endured a corruption investigation. Over the years, few mayors under investigation have resigned: Jimmy Walker, mayor from 1926 to 1932 and part of the corrupt Tammany Hall group. And he wasn’t even indicted. In 1950, William O’Dwyer resigned amid a police corruption scandal.

With the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York’s indictment against New York City Mayor Eric Adams unsealed and calls for his resignation piling up – to which he seems unwilling to yield – New Yorkers are left to wonder: What would it take for the mayor to be removed from office? 

According to the New York City Charter, Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove the mayor from office “upon charges,” as long as the mayor gets “an opportunity to be heard in his defense.” 

Should there be a vacancy, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams would step in as acting mayor. Should that occur before the end of this year – the third year of the term – Williams would have three days to call for a nonpartisan special election to fill the vacancy. The special election would need to be held within 80 days. Candidates would have two weeks to petition onto the ballot, according to election lawyer Aaron Foldenauer. The special election could not occur within 90 days of the 2025 primaries, meaning it could occur any time between now and late March. That means that the latest Williams could call for one would be in early January, were Adams to resign, according to Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia Law School who specializes in local and state government. If Adams resigns in 2025, the final year of his term, Williams would stay on as mayor for the remainder of the term.

A move by Hochul would not be the only option to remove the mayor, however: The charter also allows for an “inability committee” to step in. That would consist of the corporation counsel (a currently vacant role), City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, a deputy mayor of the mayor’s choice, City Comptroller Brad Lander (who is running for mayor) and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr., who is the longest-serving borough president. At least four members of the committee would need to vote to launch a panel of inability, which would consist of the entire City Council. 

The inability committee could decide that Adams needs to be removed permanently, at which point, the City Council could vote to oust him, requiring a two-thirds majority. (The committee could also choose to remove him temporarily.) The matter would proceed like any other mayoral vacancy from there. 

Foldenauer emphasized that as far as the City Charter goes, these are uncharted waters. “It doesn’t seem like this is the scenario (the charter) is designed for,” he said.