Gov. Kathy Hochul held a high-stakes conclave with various Democratic leaders over Mayor Eric Adams’ fate Tuesday — and will wait for a ruling in his criminal case before deciding whether to oust him.
Hochul convened a parade of Democratic muckety-mucks to march into her Manhattan office for advice as concerns about Adams’ ability to govern the nation’s largest city reached a fever pitch.
Among them was the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said after his meeting with the governor that Hochul would likely wait to see how a federal judge rules on the Justice Department’s bid to drop the historic corruption case against Adams.
“We’re going to wait and see what the judge says tomorrow so we do not set a precedent,” Sharpton told reporters as he left her Midtown offices.
“Supposing today she removed him because he’s been indicted and the judge says tomorrow, ‘I’m throwing out the indictment,’ it would be premature.”
But Hochul herself stayed silent on Sharpton’s assessment, as did her office when queried by The Post.
Manhattan federal court Judge Dale Ho is holding a hearing Wednesday over the controversial bid by President Trump’s DOJ’s to quash Adams’ criminal case, and hinted in a filing that the motion to dismiss the charges wasn’t a done deal.
Lefty pols have led a charge to have Adams resign or be removed over the DOJ’s move – a bid they contend puts him in the president’s pocket.
Moderate Democrats, meanwhile, have largely stayed silent — though a few urged Hochul to proceed with caution and let the voters decide.
The governor announced the extraordinary set of sit-downs — which included City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards — after four New York City deputy mayors resigned en masse Monday.
The resignations crystallized fears that Adams has lost the ability to govern the nation’s largest city in the aftermath of the DOJ seeking to scuttle his case — an order that a key prosecutor claimed came as part of a “quid pro quo” deal that the mayor would have to do the president’s bidding on immigration.
The alleged deal — which Adams’ attorney and DOJ officials denied — was widely seen by critics, mostly progressives, as keeping the mayor beholden to Trump, rather than New York City voters.
Sharpton, a longtime friend and ally to Adams, said he also worried about the mayor’s ability to govern after the alleged deal.
He specifically pointed out an awkward interview Adams did with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan on “Fox & Friends,” in which the fed threatened to be up Hizzoner’s “butt” if he fails to crack down on illegal immigration and alluded to an “agreement.”
Here’s the latest on Mayor Eric Adams
“If he doesn’t come through, I’ll be back in New York City and we won’t be sitting on the couch, I’ll be in his office, up his butt, saying, ‘Where the hell is this agreement we came to?’” Homan said.
Sharpton argued the whole interview raised concerns.
“I’m very concerned Mr Homan came in here and acted like he could make Adams do what he wants and that he’d be up his butt,” he said. “I can’t believe someone would say that on national television.
“I’m very concerned about how the behavior and character of people have been around a very serious issue — we’re talking about families being separated and people being raided who are not here illegally.”
Lander, the comptroller, has signaled his intent to convene an “inability committee” — one of the only ways to remove a mayor from office, other than suspension or removal by the governor.
He told reporters that he discussed the “inability committee” plan with Hochul, but acknowledged questions remain as to how it could unfold.
A City Council source told The Post that such a committee is widely believed to require the mayor to be incapacitated.
“Our read is that this is a little bit like a fishing expedition,” a source said of Lander’s efforts.
In the meantime, Lander said he’s pressing Adams to come up with a “contingency plan” to replace the four deputy mayors – as well as seeing how Ho rules.
“Obviously, tomorrow, Judge Ho has now called a hearing and we’re going to see what happens in that hearing,” he said.
“Removing him because, `We’re mad at you for helping Trump?’” ex-Gov. David Paterson told The Post sarcastically.
But some moderate New York pols, who weren’t involved in the meetings with Hochul, questioned the rush to push Adams from office.
“I don’t hear anything of a cause for him to leave office.”
Paterson noted the mayoral election is nearing, with a likely hard-fought Democratic primary in June.
“There are two choices: remove him from office or let the voters decide,” Paterson said. “I prefer the latter. Let the voters figure it out.”
State Democratic Chair Jay Jacobs contended those who want Adams ousted simply haven’t reckoned with the fact that the process to remove a sitting New York City mayor — which has never been undertaken before in state history — is complicated and potentially lengthy.
Better to just wait until the upcoming election, he said.
“There is a misconception that removal by the Governor is a quick process,” he said. “It requires due process and would likely take almost as long as it will take to get to the election.”
City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) said voters should decide Adams’ fate, not a politically connected “witch hunt.”
“Why remove him? Because he started cooperating with Trump on immigration policy,” he sarcastically quipped. “It’s stupid.”
Adams also garnered defenders among Republicans.
“As often as I’ve criticized Mayor Adams and disagreed with his policies, the Governor is wrong here and is being motivated by politics not law,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island). “She is rushing to remove him because he is working with the Trump Administration to rid our city of dangerous foreign criminals and gangs.”
The mayor did receive a day-long reprieve in judgment from House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow Brooklynite.
Jeffries said he and other House Democrats will wait to opine on Adams’ potential removal until after Ho’s decision.
But he still left Adams twisting in the wind when questioned following a community event Tuesday in Coney Island.
“It’s a deeply disturbing development,” he said. “Mayor Adams has a responsibility to decisively demonstrate to the people of New York he has the capacity to govern in the best interest of New Yorkers, as opposed to taking orders from the Trump administration.”
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, a longtime Adams ally, also gave an ominous statement after he met with Hochul.
Richards, as the city’s current longest-serving borough president, would be part of a five-person “inability committee” that could boot Adams from office.
“New York City, its values and its diverse communities are under threat now more than ever before — the obvious targets of an extremist, xenophobic federal administration that has no interest in the common good. Meanwhile, far too many New Yorkers are struggling to find affordable housing, a good-paying job or opportunities for their children to grow,” he said in a statement.
“We need steady-handed leadership at City Hall that can not only weather these crises but address them head-on and continue to move New York City forward,” Richards added. “New Yorkers deserve that from a laser-focused government they can trust, and I encourage Mayor Adams to give deep, honest thought as to whether his administration is capable of delivering such a government.”–
