File photograph courtesy of the workplace of Queens Borough President Donovan Richards
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Queens Borough President Donovan Richards held a digital assembly with Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday to debate the continued disaster at Metropolis Corridor.
The assembly was held in response to the resignation of 4 deputy mayors on Monday, Feb. 17, over allegations that Mayor Eric Adams agreed to a quid professional quo with the Trump Administration with a view to have federal corruption fees dropped.
Maria Torres-Springer, town’s First Deputy Mayor, Anne Williams-Isom, deputy mayor for Well being and Human Providers, Meera Joshi, the deputy mayor for Operations, and Chauncey Parker, deputy mayor for Public Security all resigned on Monday, citing “extraordinary events” within the Adams Administration.
Hochul, who has confronted calls to take away Adams from workplace, held conferences with key metropolis officers at her Midtown workplace all through the day on Tuesday to debate Adams’ future at Metropolis Corridor.
Richards mentioned he had a “clear-eyed and frank” digital assembly with Hochul on Tuesday in response to the fall-out of the resignations, including that he trusts the Governor to decide that places New Yorkers first.
“The powers of her office are mighty and come with immense responsibility, but I have full faith and confidence that she will continue to put the interests of our city and state first in the days ahead,” Richards mentioned in a press release.
Richards additionally known as for “steady-handed leadership” at Metropolis Corridor at a time when New York’s numerous communities are ” beneath risk now greater than ever earlier than.” He accused the Trump Administration of implementing “extremist, xenophobic” insurance policies that don’t serve New Yorkers and mentioned Adams ought to contemplate whether or not his administration can correctly serve New York residents all through the Trump presidency.
“We need steady-handed leadership at City Hall that can not only weather these crises but address them head-on and continue to move New York City forward,” Richards mentioned. “New Yorkers deserve that from a laser-focused government they can trust, and I encourage Mayor Adams to give deep, honest thought as to whether his administration is capable of delivering such a government.”
Hochul, in the meantime, expressed issues following Monday’s resignations, and scheduled conferences with key metropolis officers Tuesday to debate the Mayor’s place.
“If [the resigning deputy mayors] feel unable to serve in City Hall at this time, that raises serious questions about the long-term future of this mayoral administration,” Hochul mentioned in a press release Monday night.
Richards, together with NYC Comptroller Brad Lander and Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who additionally met with Hochul on Tuesday, might doubtlessly be a part of a city-run “Inability Committee” to weigh whether or not Mayor Adams continues to be in a position to discharge the duties of his workplace.
Adams has repeatedly insisted that he’s “going nowhere” amid requires his resignation or elimination from workplace. He lately acknowledged as a lot to a congregation at Maranatha Baptist Church in Queens Village on Feb. 16.
The Mayor instructed the congregation that he’s “not going to step down, [but] I’m going to step up” throughout the service and has additionally dismissed allegations that he agreed to a quid quo professional as “silly.”
Danielle Sassoon, the previous interim U.S. legal professional for the Southern District of New York who resigned from her publish after the DOJ moved to dismiss federal corruption fees towards Adams, accused Adams of agreeing to a quid professional quo with federal prosecutors, alleging that the Mayor would solely agree to assist with Trump’s immigration agenda if the fees towards him had been dropped, in response to widespread media stories.
Critics of the Mayor have identified that the fees have been dismissed “without prejudice,” which means they may very well be resurrected at any time. Activists have raised issues that this might imply that Adams may very well be coerced into cooperating with Trump on his immigration agenda.
Shortly after the fees had been dropped final week, Adams introduced an government order permitting ICE brokers into the Rikers Island jail advanced, stating that brokers could be approved to help in prison investigations, “in particular those focused on violent criminals and gangs.”
