Sheena Wright, Mayor Eric Adams’ first deputy mayor, joined the flood of top-tier officials leaving City Hall following Hizzoner’s federal corruption indictment late last month, the mayor announced Tuesday.
Wright resigned on Tuesday morning, following days of reported rumors that she was the next high-level Adams official to exit the administration, the New York Times first reported.
The mayor announced Wright’s resignation and Torres-Springer’s appointment during his weekly wide-ranging press conference.
“She has served New York well over the course of our administration,” Adams said. “She helped expand access to childcare, deliver free intimate access to public housing residents and battling the scruge of gun violence … She’s a great New Yorker and I thank her and I wish her well in her future endeavors.”
Adams tapped Maria Torres-Springer — previously the deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce — as Wright’s replacement. Torres-Springer, a 20-year veteran of city government, emphasized that she seeks to bring stability to a City Hall engulfed in scandal.
“It’s a very complex time in our city, but I think that my priorities are very simple,” Torres-Springer said during the press conference. “Those priorities are to focus on the work, to support the incredible leaders we have across City Hall and all of the agencies, and most importantly, to stand shoulder to shoulder with 300,000 public servants who continue to work tirelessly to deliver services and to improve lives.”
Additionally, Adams said one of Torres-Springer’s first tasks in her new role will be leading a “review of personnel, programs and policies” in conjunction with his Chief of Staff Camille Joseph Varlack. However, he denied that Wright’s departure or the review Torres-Springer will lead are at all tied to his indictment or the federal probes looming over City Hall.
Wright is exiting the administration a little more than a month after federal agents raided the Harlem home where she and her now-husband — outgoing Schools Chancellor David Banks’ — reside. Both had their cell phones seized. They were just two of several officials who were the subjects of federal raids connected to two separate investigations that took place on Sept. 4.
Published reports indicated that Wright could resign as soon as last Friday, but the weekend passed without an official announcement. Mayor Adams also denied the validity of the previous reports.
The outgoing first deputy mayor is not leaving the administration on good terms, according to a New York Post report. The tabloid claimed Wright is upset that Adams moved up David Banks’ planned retirement date at the end of the year by two months — to Oct. 16.
Wright’s departure follows a slew of recent high-profile City Hall resignations, including David Banks’ brother, former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, and former Senior Advisor Tim Pearson. On Monday, not only did Banks leave the administration, but so did Adams’ respective liaisons to the Turkish and Chinese communities, Rana Abbasova and Winnie Greco.
The mass City Hall shakeup is reportedly the result of Adams attempting to rid the upper ranks of his administation of those who are under federal scrutiny, at the urging of Gov. Kathy Hochul, who can remove him from office.
