Statement on Governor’s Proposed State Intervention in NYC Governance

February 21, 2025
Simpler, More Effective Ways for the State to Ensure New York City Is Governed by and for New Yorkers
 

Reinvent Albany believes Governor Hochul should remove Mayor Eric Adams because he cannot be relied on to put his duty to the people and laws of New York City first. We have no doubt that Mayor Adams and President Trump made a deal in which Eric Adams agreed to support Trump administration policies in return for federal criminal charges being dropped. Six career prosecutors at the Department of Justice and three New York City deputy mayors resigned because of the deal, and Trump officials have repeatedly and publicly implied it exists.

Governor Hochul’s challenge is how best to respond to this fundamental threat to the rule of law and protect the right of New York City voters to have a mayor who can act independently and in their best interest. We note that if Mayor Adams is not removed, he will remain as mayor for at least the next ten months regardless of who wins the primary and general election – which we believe is untenable.  

Our Assessment of Three Realistic Options for the Governor

1. Governor Removes Adams on March 27, 2025 Following a 30-Day Suspension.

Reinvent Albany position: Strongly support; our preferred option. 

Pros: 

  • Respects New York City home rule, succession, and governance. 
  • Respects the mayoral election calendar and June 24th primary. 
  • Triggers a completely Democratic succession resulting in the New York City Public Advocate – who was elected in a citywide vote to be first in line to the Mayor – becoming interim Mayor until the end of 2025. 
  • Provides continuity of governance. With City Council’s assistance, the interim Mayor can retain the respected technocratic Deputy Mayors who resigned.

Cons:

  • Novel legal process creates unknown risks.

2. Governor Creates Independent DOI, Boosts NYC and State Comptroller Oversight and Respects Home Rule

Reinvent Albany position: Acceptable, respects home rule while equally effective as the Governor’s February 20, 2025 proposal. 

Policy changes: NYC Department of Investigation (DOI) reports to a five-person independent board appointed by citywide electeds,City Council, and one jointly; NYC Comptroller given more data access; Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) Deputy Comptroller for NYC given more funding, data.

Pros: 

  • Respects home rule.
  • Ensures NYC DOI is independent.
  • Provides more resources for OSC’s NYC office.
  • Increases transparency by giving OSC and NYC Comptroller more access to NYC spending and contract data.

Cons: 

  • Will not do much to ensure Mayor Adams acts independently, or stop him from taking policy direction from the Trump administration.

3. Governor’s February 20, 2025 Proposal Involving NYC DOI, Comptrollers, Lawsuits

Reinvent Albany position: We oppose the overall package, while supporting some specific ideas. Broadly, the Governor proposes unnecessarily intruding on NYC home rule, and her proposed remedies do not address the core issue: ensuring New York City voters have a mayor that puts them before the Trump administration. Additionally, when asked repeatedly, Governor Hochul did not firmly commit to allowing the law to permanently expire at the end of 2025.

Reinvent Albany Positions on the Governor’s Specific Policy Proposals

  • Creates State IG for NYC (we oppose). The State IG reports to the Governor’s Office and is not an independent watchdog. This might have merit if the State IG was appointed by and reported to an independent commission. As is, we view the State IG as an extension of the Governor’s office and oppose giving the Governor more power to interfere in NYC affairs. 
  • Requires DOI report to State IG and requires State IG approval of removal of DOI commissioner (we oppose). The Governor could ensure NYC DOI is independent of mayoral interference by having the Commissioner be appointed by and report to an independently appointed board or commission.
  • Increases funding for State OSC/NYC Office (we strongly support). The amount of additional funding is modest, and this office is an effective partner and complement to NYC Comptroller. 
  • Increase NYC contract and spending transparency by giving NYC Comptroller and OSC/NYC Office much greater access to NYC contracting and spending data like the PASSPort system (we strongly support). 
  • Give Public Advocate, NYC Comptroller, and Council Speaker funds and the right to sue to the federal government,, independent of the Office of the Mayor (we have no position). We have not had time to understand whether the implications are good or bad.