HOCHUL MANAGES: As Mayor Eric Adams fights a five-count federal indictment on fraud and bribery charges, it’s been left to Gov. Kathy Hochul to manage the delicate moment.
Hochul has publicly and privately telegraphed to Adams that he should sever ties to people in his administration who are under legal scrutiny.
This week Tim Pearson, a top Adams lieutenant, resigned. Schools Chancellor David Banks, whose phone was seized in an FBI raid in September, is leaving his job earlier than expected.
Adams told reporters this morning that Banks’ new departure date was, in part, to put incoming Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos on solid footing. But he also acknowledged those discussions came after speaking with fellow leaders.
“One of the things my team stated and in my conversation with other leaders is that this is a time of real stability and to have Melissa and David there at the same time didn’t bring the stability that we wanted,” he said.
Hochul has had a strong public relationship with Adams over the last three years. Both the governor and mayor have cultivated the perception they work well together as a stark contrast to the infamous feuds that enveloped their predecessors — like Andrew Cuomo and Bill de Blasio, George Pataki and Rudy Giuliani, and Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch.
But Hochul, who holds the power to remove Adams from office, has not been afraid to leverage her influence amid the broader concerns over city governance.
Hochul told reporters Wednesday she’s been working with Adams to ensure key jobs are filled by “responsible” people.
“We expect changes. That’s not a secret,” she said. “And changes are beginning.”
Hochul, the first western New York native in a century to hold the governor’s office, has become more steeped in New York’s political world since becoming a statewide official in 2015, according to those who know her.
“She’s very focused on the whole state at this point,” said Jack O’Donnell, a political consultant and lobbyist. “New York City was a huge focus of her housing plan. She’s learned how to navigate the politics but also the governance issues of the city.”
Some good-government advocates wish she would go further.
“She’s not cleaning house, she’s saying you should sweep your stoop every now and then,” said Reinvent Albany Executive Director John Kaehny. “This is not very aggressive.” — Nick Reisman
GIBBS DETAINED: State Assemblymember Eddie Gibbs was arrested and taken into custody by the New York City Police Department on Thursday in his East Harlem district, according to witnesses, POLITICO reports.
Two people who spoke with sources within the NYPD said Gibbs’ brother was pulled over for having an unregistered vehicle. The lawmaker was in the car too and got into a heated conversation with the cops, who arrested him and gave him a summons.
Nearly a dozen police cars responded to the incident on Lexington Avenue, just outside the James Weldon Johnson Community Center, said Frederick Thomas, a security guard with the New York City Housing Authority. Cops from the Strategic Response Group patted down Gibbs, put him in handcuffs and drove him away from the scene.
Three other eyewitnesses confirmed Gibbs’ arrest to POLITICO. It was first reported by the New York Post.
Calls to Gibbs’ phone and his office were not returned, and the NYPD press office said they did not have any information on the incident. Gibbs’ district office was closed Thursday. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Gibbs is a close legislative ally of Mayor Adams, whose administration has been caught up in criminal investigations. There was no indication Gibbs’ arrest is related. — Jeff Coltin
DON’T LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT HIM: Outgoing Schools Chancellor Banks revealed Thursday that Mayor Adams forced his early resignation — exposing a rift between the longtime friends as federal probes envelop the administration, POLITICO Pro reports.
In his first public remarks since City Hall announced Wednesday evening that he will resign in mid-October, three months earlier than he intended to, Banks confirmed he had no intentions of stepping down so soon.
With his monthslong conflict with the mayor now out in the open, the chancellor released a statement through the TASC Group, a public relations firm he retained, instead of through the Department of Education. In that statement, he said he will continue to lead for another two weeks.
“Last week, I announced my planned retirement, and I was ready, willing and able to stay in my post until December 31st to conduct a responsible transition for our staff,” Banks said. “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.”
Spokespeople for the DOE and City Hall did not respond to requests for comment on why Banks issued the statement through the firm.
When asked if he’s still Banks’ spokesperson, DOE press secretary Nathaniel Styer said, “I am the press secretary for New York City Public Schools.” — Madina Touré
ANOTHER INNER CIRCLER SEARCHED: Jesse Hamilton, a longtime political ally of Mayor Adams who has a top job managing the city government’s real estate portfolio, had his phone seized by criminal investigators Friday, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, POLITICO reports.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office took Hamilton’s phone at JFK Airport as he returned from a vacation to Japan alongside Adams’ chief adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, according to the two people who spoke with POLITICO on the condition of anonymity.
Hamilton, a former state senator, is another addition to the growing list of high-ranking Adams appointees caught up in the criminal probes swirling around City Hall.
The seizure was first reported by the Daily News, which noted an employee of commercial real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield was also on the trip. That Cushman vice chair, Diana Boutross, also appears to have a relationship with Lewis-Martin, according to a POLITICO review. — Joe Anuta
IN OTHER NEWS
— LAWLER IN BLACKFACE: Rep. Mike Lawler wore blackface as part of a Halloween costume when he was a college student almost two decades ago, according to photos. (New York Times)
— NY-17 BALLOT FIGHT: Democratic allies of former Rep. Mondaire Jones filed a lawsuit in an 11th-hour bid to knock a “spoiler” Working Families Party candidate off the ballot. (New York Post)
— PRACTICING ‘RESPECTFUL’ SPEECH: As NYC college campuses brace for protests marking the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, administrators are hosting events modeling “respectful, open dialogue.” (Gothamist)
Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
