Ever since the most recent wave of federal activity surrounding Mayor Eric Adams’ administration kicked off in early September, culminating in his historic indictment last Thursday, a growing number of top City Hall staffers have run for the exits, with more high-profile departures likely on the way.
Just over the past month, the city’s police commissioner, top City Hall lawyer, schools chancellor, health commissioner and one of Adams’ most trusted advisers have all announced their departures.
City Hall revealed on Wednesday night that Schools Chancellor David Banks has decided to leave two months earlier than he originally announced last week. Banks will now leave his role on Oct. 16, with his already-selected successor Melissa Aviles-Ramos set to take over immediately, instead of at the end of the year as he had originally planned.
The schools chancellor was among several top Adams officials who had their homes searched and electronics seized by federal law enforcement on Sept. 4. The others include Banks’ now-wife, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright; his brother, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks; former top cop Edward Caban and former senior adviser Tim Pearson.
The tide of resignations has fueled concerns that Adams cannot effectively manage a city of 8.3 million people while his administration is surrounded by a shroud of federal probes and he is consumed with fighting his own criminal corruption charges in court.
The mayor, for his part, has insisted that the string of resignations is simply the usual churn that happens in a mayoral administration nearing the end of its first term and that there are more than enough seasoned city employees to step in and fill the leadership vacuums at agencies whose leaders are leaving.
But Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams from office, has told him to ax top aides under federal scrutiny in order to maintain her confidence, according to a report from NY1. Pearson’s resignation on Monday and Banks’ accelerated departure decision on Wednesday reportedly followed Hochul making that demand.
Here is a rundown of who has left the Adams administration over the past few weeks and why.
Edward Caban
Edward Caban, the mayor’s second NYPD commissioner, was the first official in his administration to step down after the raids at the beginning of last month. In his resignation email to rank-in-file cops, Caban said he was leaving “for the good of this city and this department” — indicating the recent raids had become too much of a distract for him to effectively steer the nation’s largest police force.
Following the raids, Adams immediately faced pressure to kick Caban to the curb. While Adams has fiercely denied that he pushed Caban to step down, multiple published reports indicated that is exactly what happened behind the scenes.
Caban’s brother, James Caban, is at the center of one of the many federal probes hanging over City Hall, according to several news reports. He is reportedly under scrutiny for interceding on behalf of nightlife establishments to smooth over their violations with the city by utilizing his connections at the NYPD.
A Brooklyn bar owner, Shamel Kelly, has alleged that a since-fired City Hall staffer named Ray Martin shook him down to pay James Caban’s security firm. Kelly says his bar was being subjected to weekly NYPD raids for seemingly no reason and that Martin told him the only way to make it stop was to pay Caban a fee.
Now Kelly is likely to sue the city, he revealed at a news conference earlier this week.
The mayor appointed interim NYPD Commissioner Tom Donlon, formerly a private security executive, the same day as he announced Caban was on the way out. But just eight days after taking over at the NYPD, Donlon himself had his homes raided by the feds — an action he claimed had nothing to do with the police department he now leads.
Lisa Zornberg
Lisa Zornberg served as Adams’ second chief counsel, City Hall’s top lawyer charged with providing legal guidance to the mayor and their top aides, until abruptly departing the administration on Sept. 14.
As chief counsel, a role Zornberg served in for about a year, she could often be seen publicly defending the mayor during his weekly news conferences. She would intercept reporters’ questions about the federal inquiries into the mayor and his associates and sometimes gave long speeches aimed at justifying his opposition to legislation passed by the City Council.
The former chief counsel tendered her resignation in a terse late Saturday night letter to the mayor.
“I have concluded that I can no longer effectively serve in my position,” the letter read.
Zornberg reportedly exited her position after Adams refused to take her advice to fire Pearson. Adams responded not by outright denying that is why Zornberg resigned, but instead questioning the accuracy of the reporting.
“I had a private conversation with the chief counsel … and unless you were in that conversation, I don’t know how any people could say that’s the reason that she did or didn’t leave,” he said at the time. “So, your speculations and your stories are based on your analysis and the noise that you’re hearing.”
Adams replaced Zornberg on Tuesday with Allison Stoddart, who served as chief of staff to the chief counsel since the start of his administration.
Ashwin Vasan
City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan’s resignation announcement on Sept. 23 has perhaps been the least dramatic thus far. Vasan, who has served as the city’s chief doctor since early 2022, said he is leaving the administration at the start of next year to spend more time with his family.
“My wife and three young children have served alongside me, bearing the brunt of my absence and shouldering so much,” Vasan said last week. “I’m grateful for their love and have chosen that now it is time to support them and their wellbeing. While this was a hard decision, it was the right one for me and my family.”
Although it occurred after the federal raids, City Hall insisted Vasan’s exit was unrelated to the investigations.
The mayor has yet to choose Vasan’s successor.
David Banks
Outgoing Schools Chancellor David Banks, whom the mayor counts as a long-time personal friend, announced he is leaving the administration last week — describing his decision as a retirement rather than a resignation. Initially, Banks set his retirement date for the end of the year, but then moved it up, he says at the behest of the mayor.
“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. The Mayor has decided to accelerate that timeline,” Banks said in a Thursday statement posted on X by the New York Times.
Banks insists that according to his attorney he is “not a target” in the federal investigation. He also has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
But Banks’ brother, Terence Banks, appears to play a central role in one of the federal inquiries into City Hall, according to published reports. The feds are reportedly investigating a possible bribery scheme involving the clients of Terence Banks’ consulting firm, the Pearl Alliance, nabbing city contracts.
Furthermore, Banks and Sheena Wright, his long-time partner, raised eyebrows when they decided to finally tie the knot this past weekend in Martha’s Vinyard — as the wedding affords them the privilege to decline to testify against one another in court. However, Banks denied that was the reason why they decided to get married now.
Tim Pearson
Tim Pearson, likely Adams’ most controversial staffer, told the mayor he would depart his post on Oct. 4 in a Monday letter. In the missive, Pearson said he was leaving to “focus on family, self-care and new endeavors.” Adams also publicly insisted that Pearson left of his own accord, during a Tuesday news conference.
“He made the determination that it was time to go on with that and I respect that,” the mayor said.
But Adams had been facing mounting pressure to oust Pearson even before the federal raids last month — calls he had steadfastly resisted for over a year. That’s because Pearson was already facing four separate civil lawsuits accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliation over the past couple of years; as well as a Department of Investigation Probe into a scuffle between him and a couple of migrant shelter guards last year.
The Daily News reported on Tuesday that Adams himself was pushing Pearson to step down through Frank Carone, his close confidant and former chief of staff.
Pearson was Adams’ precinct commander when they both served in the NYPD and has been a close personal friend of his for many years. He oversaw migrant shelter contracts and advised the mayor on public safety issues, although he officially worked for the city’s quasi-governmental Economic Development Corporation.
