New York City’s government has seen its share of political scandals and corruption.
But when news broke Thursday that federal agents had searched homes and seized phones belonging to high ranking officials — including the police commissioner, schools chancellor, and first deputy mayor — even the most grizzled political veterans were taken aback.
“It’s really shocking to all of us,” said Gale Brewer, a Manhattan City Councilmember who has had a ringside seat to political scandals dating back decades.
Brewer, along with the rest of the city’s political class, has watched for months as Mayor Eric Adams and his campaign have been embroiled in a winding and yet unclear federal investigation. The raids on top city officials only add to the confusion, as City Hall insists that neither the mayor nor his staff are involved.
“It does not look great,” said Christina Greer, a political scientist who teaches at Fordham University. “But we’re still in the ‘I don’t know’ phase.”
And those phases can drag on — allowing uncertainty and distrust in city government to mount. In the 1980s, when Brewer was a chief of staff to a City Councilmember, City Hall was engulfed in yet another mysterious FBI probe which exposed a bribery ring involving multiple city agencies. Its scope only came to light after the suicide of Donald Manes, the Queens borough president and close ally of Ed Koch who was at the center of the investigation.
“Sometimes it’s the tip of the iceberg and then it all starts to unravel,” Brewer said. The investigation ended in the convictions of two Democratic political bosses, one of whom went to prison, and several former city officials.
The current mayor — who has not been accused of any wrongdoing — now faces increasing skepticism about whether he can effectively manage the city amid the onslaught of investigations.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a frequent critic of Adams, on Thursday issued a statement saying that while he did not know the reason for the searches, he believes that they interfere with the city government’s ability to do its job.
“These repeated instances — at higher and higher levels — affect New Yorkers’ confidence in government,” Williams said.
During an interview on Fox 5, the mayor addressed doubts over his ability to concentrate on his job by invoking his mantra: “Stay focused, no distraction and grind.”
Heading into an election year, Adams will be judged on how he tackles several thorny challenges — not just a perception of political scandal. These include how to build more affordable housing and assure New Yorkers that the city is safer.
In his Fox 5 interview, he pointed to a decrease in crime. Most violent crime rates are down, but several recent high-profile shootings, including one at the West Indian Day parade, have unnerved some residents. The mayor’s “City of Yes” housing agenda is still winding its way through the Council, with the most critical and contentious component set for a vote later this year.
Ester Fuchs, an urban politics professor at Columbia University who worked as a policy adviser to former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, said the mayor’s current policy struggles make him more vulnerable to a sense of political scandal.
“If the city was running smoothly and if we didn’t have multiple crises at the same time, the public would have room for this,” Fuchs said. “But it just contributes to the view that the public has that the city is not functioning well.”
Each ensuing drama centered around the investigations has brought a fresh round of attacks from Adams’ primary opponents. All three Democratic challengers — City Comptroller Brad Lander, State Sen. Zellnor Myrie and former comptroller Scott Stringer — have made managerial competence a key issue in their campaigns.
On Thursday, Lander said that the “unending stream of stories about the Adams Administration being raided and investigated by federal law enforcement” made it “clear that New Yorkers are not getting the steady leadership we deserve.”
The evolving investigations could also embolden others to enter the race. Several people are said to be waiting in the wings, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“I’m tired of this, aren’t you,” Jessica Ramos, a Queens state senator who is considering entering the primary race, said on X.
Her colleague in the Legislature, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdami, may also be considering a run. He said that New Yorkers were facing an affordability crisis, and “an administration plagued by corruption and distracted by scandal cannot effectively deal with it.”
Still, some cautioned against writing the mayor off before prosecutors make an actual case.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio faced state and federal investigations during his first term in office, but prosecutors ultimately decided not to press charges. He went on to win reelection in 2017.
According to Greer, “No one is politically dead until they’re dead.”