Hochul Plans to Impose New Oversight of New York City Amid Adams Scandal

Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York plans to announce on Thursday that she will not exercise her authority to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office at this time, but will seek to impose strict new guardrails on his administration of New York City, according to two officials familiar with her thinking.

Ms. Hochul’s actions could curtail the mayor’s independence at a time when he is battling accusations that he entered a coercive arrangement with the Trump administration in exchange for the federal corruption charges he faces being dropped. It could also further damage his re-election prospects this year, even as it makes it more likely that he will be allowed to serve the remainder of his term.

Ms. Hochul, a Democrat who has been a key ally to the mayor, plans to admonish Mr. Adams for his conduct on Thursday and portray her proposals as necessary to reassure New Yorkers that he is being held accountable.

While Ms. Hochul will say she is not prepared to overturn the will of voters, she is expected to lay out a suite of new oversight measures designed to empower other state and city officials to keep careful watch over Mr. Adams’s team at City Hall.

The steps Ms. Hochul plans to propose include creating a new state deputy inspector general dedicated to New York City; establishing a fund for the city comptroller, public advocate and City Council speaker to hire outside counsel to sue the federal government if the mayor is unwilling to do so; and granting additional funds for the state’s comptroller to scrutinize city finances.

The governor also wants to impose a new rule that would bar the mayor from firing the head of the city’s Department of Investigation without the approval of the state inspector general.