Who has left the Adams administration?

Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is in an existential crisis, and Adams seems to be attempting amputation to save it. In the weeks after a series of federal raids and subpoenas were served to multiple members of his inner circle and the mayor was indicted on federal corruption charges, there has been a mass exodus. On Oct. 8, the mayor replaced First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, and it was reported that top aide Winnie Greco had stepped down. On Oct. 7, the mayor confirmed his longtime friend Phil Banks had resigned as deputy mayor for public safety. News of his exit followed an announcement that the mayor’s embattled Public Safety Adviser Tim Pearson was out and that schools Chancellor David Banks would be out by mid-October. No one has been charged with anything besides the mayor, but he is under significant pressure from Gov. Kathy Hochul to clean house. And the turmoil is seemingly pushing out some of the less problematic aides as well.

The city’s police commissioner and City Hall’s top lawyer abruptly resigned, and the health commissioner announced plans to leave.

Adams has brushed off questions about how he would hire people amid an onslaught of bad headlines for the administration, saying, “we have a deep bench.”

These are some of the major departures from Adams’ administration. This post was updated on Oct. 16.

Director of Asian Affairs Winnie Greco

Politico reported on Oct. 7 that Greco, another longtime ally and adviser to the mayor, had stepped down. Greco started working with Adams while he was Brooklyn borough president. Greco wasn’t on the payroll at the time but served as a liaison to the Chinese American community and became a prolific fundraiser for his campaigns. Greco was hired when Adams became mayor as a senior adviser and director of Asian Affairs, and in the past couple years has attracted scrutiny from both federal authorities and the city’s Department of Investigation. In the former case, authorities raided two homes owned by Greco as well as the New World Mall in Queens, which has been tied to evidence of straw donations reported on by The City. Adams was loyal to Greco despite that scrutiny – she went on sick leave after the federal raids, but returned and received a raise, The City reported.

Politico also reported that City Hall fired Rana Abbasova, director of protocol for international affairs, who has cooperated with federal authorities and is apparently a central witness in the indictment unsealed against Adams. Also fired was Mohamed Bahi, who was arrested on Oct. 8 for witness tampering in connection to the federal investigation into Adams. 

Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks

On Oct. 6, the New York Post reported that Banks was out. The mayor confirmed the departure on NY1 on Oct. 7, saying: “He stated he wants to transition to some other things with his life, and he doesn’t want this to be a constant burden on the work that we’re doing in the city… I wish my good friend well.” In the Adams administration, Banks was the rare deputy mayor who didn’t regularly appear at Adams’ weekly off-topic press conferences; a reason was never provided for his absences. For a short time, Banks held his own regular press conferences on public safety issues, but those ended last year, also without explanation. As deputy mayor, Banks exerted influence over the NYPD and Civilian Complaint Review Board. Banks’ role as head of public safety reportedly put him at odds with Adams’ first Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, who resigned after less than two years.This September, federal authorities raided Banks’ home in Hollis, Queens, and seized his cell phone, The City first reported. He has not been charged with any crimes in the current federal inquiry into the Adams administration. Banks and Adams are longtime friends who decades ago served together in the NYPD. Banks was once considered a contender for police commissioner, but abruptly retired from the department in 2014 amid a federal investigation into police corruption. He was later named an unindicted co-conspirator in the sprawling federal corruption case. 

First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright 

Adams confirmed Wright had resigned on Tuesday Oct. 8 at his weekly press briefing, announcing that Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Housing and Workforce Development Maria Torres-Springer would take over in the role. Adams thanked Wright during that announcement: “She has served New Yorkers well over the course of our administration… She’s a great New Yorker,” he said.

The New York Post reported on Oct. 4 that Wright would be leaving the Adams administration, news that was matched by Gothamist and Politico, though it wasn’t initially clear when she would resign. Wright’s exit comes on the heels of the revelation that her husband David Banks would be leaving the administration earlier than expected. Banks initially announced he would be stepping down at the end of the year, but the mayor abruptly shifted that date to Oct. 16. The feds raided the home that Wright and Banks share on Sept. 4, but neither has been charged with anything. The couple got married over the weekend of Sept. 28. Wright first joined the administration in January 2022 as deputy mayor of strategic initiatives. She was promoted to first deputy mayor in December 2022 after Lorraine Grillo stepped down.

Senior Adviser Timothy Pearson

A close friend to Adams, Pearson was one of his most problematic aides. He has been the subject of two Department of Investigation inquiries, one into sexual harassment and the other related to an incident when he allegedly attacked security guards at a migrant shelter. He’s also facing four lawsuits from NYPD underlings related to alleged sexual harassment and retaliation in his role. Pearson’s phones were also seized in early September as part of a federal investigation that affected other Adams officials. Earlier this year, Politico reported that Pearson delayed the opening of a migrant facility to secure a security contract for Adams’ close friend Bo Dietl. More recently, the outlet reported that Pearson pushed for the city to hire an artificial intelligence company despite Fire Department concerns, ultimately securing the company a pilot program in the city’s migrant shelters. The Adams administration had faced questions about Pearson’s misconduct from the City Council before, specifically from Council Member Lincoln Restler, who said Pearson’s conduct “should embarrass us all.” Adams former chief counsel reportedly resigned partly because Adams did not immediately take her advice to remove Pearson. Pearson, who was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars between his NYPD pension and his salary, resigned on September 30, effective Oct. 4, and in his resignation letter said he would be focusing on his family and new endeavors. 

Schools Chancellor David Banks

New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks couldn’t be more enmeshed in the Adams administration – his partner is first deputy mayor, his brother is deputy mayor for public safety, and his other brother is linked to a company that won a lucrative DOE contract. In early September, all four, including the chancellor, were raided or had devices seized by federal agents amid sprawling probes into members of the mayor’s inner circle. 

But in the middle of the most tumultuous moment in the Adams administration yet, David Banks submitted his resignation to the mayor, as first reported by Pix11 on Sept. 24. Banks’ resignation letter notes that his plans to retire were first discussed with Adams earlier this year, when Banks told him that he planned to do so by the end of the calendar year. City Hall has not answered a question about when that meeting took place.

Banks’ letter said that he is retiring as of Dec. 31, but on Oct. 2, it was reported that he will instead be leaving earlier than planned, on Oct. 16. Banks addressed this change of plans in a statement sent through a private communications firm, saying that the decision was not his own. “The Mayor has decided to accelerate that timeline. My focus will be on supporting the incoming Chancellor as she assumes this new role and continues the great work that we have started at New York City Public Schools,” Banks said. “I will do everything in my power to ensure that students and teachers do not experience any changes or disruptions during this transition.”

Banks was appointed to the position in January 2022.

Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan

On Sept. 23, Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan announced he would step down by January 2025, saying he needs to spend more time with his family. “I’m grateful for their love and have chosen that now it is time to support them and their well-being,” he said in a statement. City Hall denied that Vasan’s departure was linked to ongoing federal probes. The timing of the announcement came shortly after Adams’ chief counsel Lisa Zornberg and his former Police Commissioner Edward Caban stepped down. Vasan has not been touched by any reported federal investigations. Later, on Oct. 15, Vasan informed his staff that his last day would actually be Friday, Oct. 18, citing family needs that had “taken on greater urgency.”

Vasan served as city health commissioner beginning in early 2022 at the start of Adams’ tenure and helped navigate the city through the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic and through an outbreak of the Mpox virus. He was outspoken about the negative impacts of social media on teens. He came into the role aiming to focus on mental health as the former leader of a nonprofit called Fountain House, which provides services to people with mental illness. 

Chief Counsel Lisa Zornberg

Adams has characterized these recent exits as turnover typical in any four-year administration, but there was nothing typical about City Hall Chief Counsel Zornberg’s abrupt resignation, which was announced by City Hall to only a handful of media outlets late on a Saturday night. Zornberg’s resignation letter on Sept. 14 stated that she had “concluded that I can no longer effectively serve in my position.” Adams has declined to comment on conversations he had with Zornberg leading up to her resignation, and has declined to comment on reports that her exit was prompted by his refusal to get rid of officials who have come under federal scrutiny, including Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, senior adviser Pearson and Winnie Greco, director of Asian Affairs.

Zornberg was appointed in July 2023, replacing former chief counsel Brendan McGuire. Since news broke in November 2023 that federal investigators were looking into Adams’ 2021 campaign – and as additional investigations into his inner circle have more recently surfaced – Zornberg often fielded and intercepted questions about those probes from the press to the mayor, usually declining to comment.

Police Commissioner Edward Caban

Caban was also visited by federal authorities in the September sweeps, and just over a week later, on Sept. 12, stepped down as the city’s top cop after a little over a year on the job. Multiple outlets have reported that Caban faced pressure to step down from City Hall, which Adams has denied. But Caban’s resignation is one of the only recent ones to explicitly reference the distraction of the federal scrutiny. “The news around recent developments has created a distraction for our department, and I am unwilling to let my attention be on anything other than our important work, or the safety of the men and women of the NYPD,” Caban wrote in his resignation letter.

Caban’s twin brother James also had his phone seized by the feds, who are reportedly looking into whether he profited in his consulting business from his connection to his brother.

Edward Caban was appointed police commissioner in July 2023, replacing Keechant Sewell.