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 month 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 Friday, it was reported that First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright would be stepping down. News of her exit followed an announcement that the mayor’s embattled Public Safety Adviser Tim Pearson would be resigning Friday 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 reportedly 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.

In the past month, the city’s police commissioner and City Hall’s top lawyer have abruptly resigned, and the health commissioner announced plans to leave in the coming months. 

At a press conference on Sept. 24, Adams brushed off a question about how he would hire people amid an onslaught of bad headlines for the administration. “People come in and out of government,” he said, characterizing some of the recent departures as regular turnover. Adams downplayed the multiple top positions vacant or soon to be open, saying, “we have a deep bench.”

These are some of the major departures from Adams’ administration. This post was updated on Oct. 4.

First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright

The New York Post reported on Oct. 4 that Wright would be leaving the Adams administration, news that was matched by Gothamist and Politico. It’s not clear exactly when she would step down. Wright’s reported exit came 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 reportedly 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. 

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.