New York City’s First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is stepping down, according to two City Hall sources who requested anonymity ahead of an official announcement. The news comes barely a month after federal agents raided her home and seized her electronic devices amid a sprawling series of investigations that have roiled Mayor Eric Adams’ administration.
One of the sources told Gothamist that Wright’s resignation letter could arrive as soon as Friday. The timing of her last day is uncertain.
The New York Post first reported the news on Friday.
Wright’s resignation comes just over a week after federal prosecutors indicted Mayor Eric Adams on federal corruption charges. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the unilateral authority to remove Adams from office, has been pressuring the mayor to eject embattled aides from his administration.
Wright joined the Adams administration as deputy mayor of strategic initiatives in January 2022, joining her romantic partner David Banks, the city’s outgoing schools chancellor, and Phil Banks, David’s brother and the deputy mayor of public safety, in the highest offices of city government. She was named top deputy mayor a year later. (Wright and Banks reportedly married last weekend.)
Wright, an attorney and longtime nonprofit executive, has appeared beside the mayor at weekly press conferences. But the visit from federal agents last month has clouded her tenure.
The investigation, which is one of several involving members of the mayor’s inner circle, appears to focus on a consulting company run by her brother-in-law Terence Banks, a former MTA worker who may have used his ties to the upper echelons of city government to entice clients or gain influence.
Wright has not been accused of wrongdoing and has asserted she has done nothing inappropriate.
Wright has also held a seat on NYCHA’s seven-member board, which holds monthly meetings and votes on agency procurement. In January, she joined other board members in unanimously approving a $154 million contract for her brother-in-law Phil Banks’ former security company, the New York Times first reported.
Phil Banks does not list income from the company, City Safe Partners, on mandatory disclosure forms filed with the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board and has said he divested from the company before assuming his role as deputy mayor for public safety.
Wright declined to answer questions about her vote before a Sept. 25 NYCHA board meeting.
“It didn’t benefit anybody,” Wright told Gothamist.
After the meeting, she declined to comment on whether she had seen evidence that Phil Banks had divested from the company.
“Have you seen any evidence that there is any relationship? One shred?” Wright said.
Wright walked away after Gothamist pointed out that Banks had owned the company. She did not respond to questions about whether she should have recused herself from the vote.