What’s to become of Eric Adams’ administration now?
Who could possibly want to work in the upper echelons of New York City government at the moment? It’s a serious question with profound implications for how well the largest and most complex municipal machinery in America will function between now and the end of 2025.
Typically, helping run the city is a dream job for talented and dedicated public servants. It’s challenging and exhilarating, a great chance to sharpen skills and build a career. But Mayor Adams has scared away the partners he needs to run the government — by striking a bargain with the Trump administration that spares himself from criminal prosecution (for now, anyway) in exchange for an apparent pledge to help with the federal government’s deportation machinery. Adams insists he hasn’t traded away his agency or his integrity, but he protests too much. It feels like he has swapped the oath of office he swore in 2022 for a new one, choosing to honor and obey a president regardless of whether his agenda will benefit the city or not.
The four deputy mayors who have just announced they’re on their way out — Maria Torres-Springer, first deputy mayor; Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for health and human services; Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for operations; and Chauncey Parker, deputy mayor for public safety — smelled what’s rotten. These four figure were the class of the administration, the type of broadly respected professionals that offered reassurance that even if Adams himself engaged in shenanigans, the City was still in good hands.
A joint statement by the first three said their departure was necessary “to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families.” Translation: Remaining close to the seat of power would mean compromising their integrity.
We can look back to just four months ago, when, in the wake of investigations and criminal charges, Adams tapped Torres-Springer as first deputy mayor, replacing Sheena Wright, who had resigned following an FBI search of her home and seizure of her phones. Soon after, Parker was appointed deputy mayor for public safety, replacing the ethically challenged Phil Banks whose homes were also searched and phones seized. The moment came way too late, after almost three years of government of, by and for Eric Adams’ cronies — but it did come, and it gave some real hope to those who care about the day-to-day management of the city. A quality crew would steady the ship and make responsible decisions.
That period now looks nothing more than a blip, an accident. Adams is back on course, headed due south.
What makes this moment in New York City politics so upsetting and strange is that Adams still speaks to a very real constituency in the five boroughs that’s hungry for a champion.
Adams has forged a clear and distinct political identity. He is tougher on crime than the progressives who dominate the City Council. He seeks to answer serious mental illness on the street not only with housing and services but with some stronger medicine as well. He wants to be moderate on immigration — which is to say, protective of undocumented immigrants in most cases, but willing to cooperate with federal agents to aid in the deportation of more people with histories of violence. He’s always cared more than the average New York City Democrat about quality-of-life concerns, from trash to rodents, and his embrace of private-sector housing production is what enabled the biggest zoning policy victory in generations, one that’ll finally seed the growth of new apartments across the city.
In short, Adams may have a poor ethical compass but often his political instincts are strong, enabling him to locate something close to the center of a diverse electorate. If he were somehow uncompromised, and surrounded by trustworthy and competent people, he’d likely have plenty of the public at his back. A sizable percentage of the electorate is looking for a mayor who is both pragmatic and capable.
So who else is out there? The 2025 Democratic mayoral field is full of a half dozen progressives who are furiously attempting to recast their messaging to meet the new mood of the electorate. They now sell themselves as hard-headed managers who want to attack the cost of living and make government work better. In presidential elections, Democrats often run left to win the primary, then tack right as soon as humanly possible. With a couple of exceptions, this mayoral race has so far been defined by very liberal candidates tacking right from the start, to offer themselves as the responsible alternative to the man they revile as a closet Republican.
Not everyone in the 2025 field is a progressive who, mugged by the polls, has reinvented themselves as a sober pragmatist. There’s one unabashed progressive who’s trying to stand out as the one who didn’t put his finger in the wind, and a couple of actual moderates who haven’t held public office before and have struggled so far to connect with voters.
Then there’s former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, certain to go from looming to all-consuming the moment he enters the fray. Almost everyone with direct experience with the man knows he’s a piece of work, but he’ll immediately stand out as the sole figure who can boast both of not suffering progressive fools and a record of getting things done in the public sector.
Eric Adams has long wanted to occupy this lane in a reelection campaign. Unfortunately for him and for the city he represents, he proved incapable. With stunning speed, he saved himself and lost his city.