Four deputy mayors in New York City are resigning, the mayor’s office confirmed on Feb. 17.
Maria Torres-Springer, first deputy mayor; Meera Joshi, deputy mayor for operations; Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for health and human services; and Chauncey Parker, deputy mayor for public safety, are departing the administration of Mayor Eric Adams, the Democrat said.
Adams told news outlets in a statement that the deputy mayors are “extraordinary public servants” who helped him reshape the city.
“I am disappointed to see them go, but given the current challenges, I understand their decision and wish them nothing but success in the future,“ Adams added later. “But let me be crystal clear: New York City will keep moving forward, just as it does every day.”
The deputy mayors will remain in place for now, according to Adams.
Torres-Springer, Joshi, and Williams-Isom told agency heads and staff in a memo that they were exiting because of “the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths” they swore to New Yorkers and their families.
Adams, an ex-police officer, became mayor in 2022. He was charged by federal prosecutors in 2024, when President Joe Biden was in office, with corruption, including accepting illegal campaign contributions.
After President Donald Trump took office, top federal officials assessed the case and raised concerns about statements prosecutors had made. They directed the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York to move to dismiss the charges.
The office resisted, and several prosecutors resigned. U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove and other Department of Justice officials on Feb. 14 filed the court document that asked a federal judge to throw out the case without prejudice, which would give prosecutors the ability to charge Adams again in the future.
The officials said that continuing the prosecution would distract Adams from helping the federal government deal with illegal immigration but that the prosecutorial office should reexamine the case after the 2025 mayoral election.
Adams pleaded not guilty, has said he is innocent, and is running for another term.
Political leaders, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.), have called on Adams to step down. But New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, another Democrat, has said she’s taking a more deliberative approach.
“The allegations are extremely concerning and serious, but I cannot, as the governor of this state, have a knee-jerk, politically motivated reaction like a lot of other people are saying right now,” she said during a recent appearance on MSNBC. “I’ve got to do it smart, what’s right, and I’m consulting with other leaders in government right now.”
