New York City’s mayor is set to undergo medical tests, raising the prospect he will not be able to carry out his duties, a spokesman said on Jan. 26.
“Over the last few days, Mayor Adams hasn’t been feeling his best. As a result, this week, the mayor will have a number of doctors’ appointments and undergo routine medical tests,” Fabian Levy, a spokesman for New York City Mayor Eric Adams, said on the social media platform X.
Adams, 64, a former police officer, will keep communicating constantly with staff members to make sure city business continues, but will have a limited public schedule, according to Levy.
“New Yorkers can rest assured that their local government will continue to deliver for them every day as our committed workforce at City Hall, and more than 300,000 employees at dozens of city agencies, continue to show up on the most important issues,” Levy wrote. “Like every other New Yorker, Mayor Adams has a right to privacy when it comes to personal matters, but we will continue to communicate in the unlikely event he is unable to fully discharge his duties on any particular day.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for more details, including what symptoms Adams has been experiencing.
Adams won his first race for mayor in 2021 and entered office in 2022. He has said that a diagnosis of diabetes in 2016 spurred a lifestyle change, including a shift to a largely vegan diet.
Adams typically makes multiple public appearances per week. During the week of Jan. 19, he attended the inauguration of President Donald Trump, held a press conference in New York City announcing that tens of thousands of illegal guns had been seized during his administration, and took questions while sitting in the studios of a local broadcaster.
According to New York City’s charter, when the mayor is temporarily unable to discharge his or her duties and power, those powers and duties shall go to the next official in the line of succession.
The first official in the line is the public advocate, followed by the city comptroller.
Jumaane D. Williams, 48, a former New York City Council member, is the current public advocate. Brad Lander, 55, another former councilman, is the comptroller.
Adams, Williams, and Lander belong to the Democratic Party.
