Mayor Eric Adams of New York City is facing a troubling exodus of top officials from his administration, just 18 months into his term. The departures come at a time when the city is grappling with multiple major challenges, including crime, housing and homelessness. Last month, the mayor’s chief housing officer, Jessica Katz, resigned, leaving the city without the architect of its housing agenda. In February, the city’s social services commissioner, Gary Jenkins, resigned. And on Monday, the city’s police commissioner, Keechant Sewell, blindsided Mr. Adams with her resignation.
Their departures have hit the Adams administration in areas where the city faces its most pressing concerns. The overwhelming number of resignations reinforces the notion that Mr. Adams trusts few people beyond a tight circle of loyalists who serve as deputy mayors and senior advisers. The loss of experienced government hands threatens to enhance that dynamic, further empowering the mayor’s longtime loyalists at a time when the city is facing a phalanx of challenges.
While their reasons for leaving vary, police and City Hall officials close to Ms. Sewell said she was undermined by Philip Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety, who some felt was acting as a shadow police commissioner. Mr. Adams on Tuesday angrily rebuffed the notion that he was facing a staff exodus, and accused the media that covers him of existing in a narrative-generating “bubble.”
The departures are not completely without precedent. In 1979, a year and a half into his first term as mayor, Ed Koch eliminated four deputy mayor positions. But that analogy only goes so far. Mr. Adams has long prized loyalty. He kept allies close as he rose through New York City politics to the top job. The hiring of the mayor’s brother, Bernard Adams, to oversee his security also raised alarm among government watchdogs. His brother eventually took the position at a salary of $1 and stepped down in February.
Every administration has its ebbs and flows, and high-profile jobs in city government are undoubtedly stressful. However, the loss of experienced government hands in the Adams administration threatens to enhance the dynamic of empowering the mayor’s longtime loyalists at a time when the city is facing a phalanx of challenges.
