Several dozen senior administration staffers were called into a hastily-called pep talk hosted by the mayor’s Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack on Thursday, hours after THE CITY first reported the news.
The message was, “stay focused and keep your head down,” one staffer on the call described, which was first reported on by the New York Times. The source said the call was “ridiculous and patronizing.”
Inside City Hall on Friday, however, operations remained business as usual, with staffers returning to their offices and desks around the expansive bullpen, and top officials continuing to hold regular meetings, sources told THE CITY.
Adams met with the mayor of Lisbon and the United States ambassador to Portugal at City Hall, and recorded a television interview. His social media accounts posted about National Read a Book Day and traffic violence..
Meanwhile, a government delegation from Taipei, Taiwan held meetings with officials from multiple agencies, including the Department of City Planning, the Economic Development Corporation, and the mayor’s office of international affairs.
An Array of Raids
The federal moves this week — the latest in a series of separate investigations into people around the mayor, starting with a raid of his top fundraiser’s home last November — come at a particularly busy time for Adams.
Next week, the City Council is expected to vote on the mayor’s controversial selection to be the new corporation counsel, Randy Mastro — a confirmation that is unlikely following an 11-hour interrogation of the high-powered lawyer last week.
Adams is also pressing the Council to pass more legislation related to the City of Yes, his administration’s ambitious proposal to add more badly-needed housing in the five boroughs.
And in a little more than 10 months, he’ll face what could be a hotly contested a Democratic primary election.
“My job is to make sure I’m fighting on behalf of New Yorkers,” Mayor Adams said on Fox 5 Thursday evening. “And that’s exactly what I’m doing.”
On Thursday, THE CITY first reported that federal investigators raided the Hamilton Heights home where First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright and Schools Chancellor David Banks live, and the St. Albans, Queens home owned by Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, David’s brother. Phil Banks was already the subject of a federal investigation under former Mayor Bill de Blasio, where he was an unindicted co-conspirator in a high profile police corruption case.
Federal investigators also seized phones belonging to Police Commissioner Edward Caban and Tim Pearson, a top aide to the mayor and former cop, the New York Times reported.
And ABC News reported three other high ranking NYPD officials had their phones seized, as part of that same probe, which, an administration source said, was different from earlier FBI raids last fall that hit a top fundraiser for Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign and several donors with potential ties to Turkey.
The most recent probes are being handled by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, based in Manhattan.
They are distinct from the Eastern District of New York’s investigation of Adams aide Winnie Greco, who was also closely involved in fundraising efforts for the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
Political Winds
As Adams continued to tout his persistent message to “stay focused” his staunch allies remained silent. Two influential unions that had supported Adams’ mayoral bid in 2021 — the Hotel Trades Council, and DC37 — didn’t return requests for comment on the raids. Service Employees International Union Local 32BJ, which also supported Adams, declined to comment.
Members of the business community also remained tight-lipped. Multiple business leaders declined to comment on whether the raids had shaken their support for the mayor.
But the New York Post editorial board, typically aligned with Mayor Eric Adams and his top police brass, called on the mayor to give Caban the ax.
“Caban as NYPD chief works with the feds every day; now he’s had his home raided by the very same feds,” the board wrote. “Even if he’s done nothing wrong, how can he possibly do his job properly while this stink remains?”
Councilmember Bob Holden, a moderate Democrat who represents neighborhoods in Queens, also said the commissioner should step down, the Queens Chronicle first reported.
“A police commissioner being raided by the feds is not good for the department,” Holden later said in a text message to THE CITY.
Meanwhile, a chorus of Democratic challengers seeking to oust Adams during the mayoral primary next spring pounced at the news.
Comptroller Brad Lander tweeted that it was clear, “New Yorkers are not getting the steady leadership we deserve.” His predecessor who is also running for mayor, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, posted “You can’t clean up this city’s problems when your own house is a mess.” And Assembly member Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) described the Adams administration as “plagued by corruption and distracted by scandal.”
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) blasted a fundraising email out to supporters referencing “the headlines,” adding, “I can’t answer questions for others — but I can make crystal clear how I would lead this city.”
State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens), who is also rumored to be eying the job, simply tweeted “I’m tired of this, aren’t you?” in response to the news on Thursday.
Still, a political strategist who worked under former Mayor Bill de Blasio administration, called the tone from opponents muted.
“They are waiting to see if an indictment comes. None of this changes the math either way,” the strategist, who asked for anonymity do to their ongoing relationship with the administration, said. “It’s obviously bad for Adams, but it doesn’t become a game changer until you finally get that indictment. The circle is tightening here. But will it actually lead to [Eric]?”
Asked about the raids at an unrelated press conference Friday, Gov. Kathy Hochul — whose former staff have their own federal problems — stood by the mayor.
“I also represent the people of New York City and it is in their interest for me to continue working with the mayor on fighting crime, improving subway safety, closing down illegal cannabis shops, making our streets safer,” she said following an appearance on Long Island.
Hochul added, “My job is not to speculate, I’ll let the authorities do their jobs.”
Asked about the raids of top NYPD officials, including Caban, and whether it shook her confidence in public safety under their leadership, the governor said she had, “full confidence in the NYPD to have the rank and file continue doing what they do on the streets.”
