Phil Banks III, New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety, left his position after several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ Administration did the same amid a federal investigation.
Banks III was chief of the New York Police Department (NYPD) before leaving office in 2014. Adams later brought him back to serve as his deputy mayor.
“We talked yesterday and we talked again this morning and he said he wants to move on with other things in his life,” Adams said. “I wish my good friend the best.”
Likewise, Phil Banks’ brother, Schools Chancellor David Banks, announced his resignation last week, and his wife, Sheena Wright, is expected to do the same soon.
Although the mayor said this weekend, “she is with us. All these rumors. When we make an announcement, we make an announcement. I don’t know where all these rumors came from. But when we make our announcement, we make them. “She has been an incredible vice mayor and we hope she continues to do the great work she does.”
Last September, Phil Banks had his phones seized as part of a federal investigation into city contracts and how the NYPD enforced nightlife regulations. David Banks and Sheena Wright also had their phones seized.
The now-former deputy mayor for security, who was then the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, resigned from the department in 2014 during another corruption controversy in the previous administration. Federal prosecutors at the time named Banks an unindicted accomplice.
For his part, Adams has pleaded not guilty to a five-count indictment accusing him of bribery and fraud, still resisting calls to resign as mayor of the Big Apple, ABC 7 New York reported.
A Marist poll supposedly shows that a majority of New Yorkers believe Adams should resign.
The poll found that 69% of New York residents believe the mayor should resign, including 71% of Democrats. 80% consider that he should not run as a candidate again, while 30% think that he should finish his term.
If Adams does not leave office, 63% said New York State Governor Kathy Hochul should begin the process of removing him, while 36% do not think the governor should take such action.
The New York City poll is the first since the mayor was impeached.
“New York City residents not only think he has done something illegal, they believe he should resign or have Governor Hochul begin the process to remove him from office,” the poll says.
For his part, Adams assures that these numbers are a reflection that people only hear “one side of the story and now they will have the opportunity to see both sides of the story.”
“Listen, we haven’t been able to fully tell our side of the conversation,” the mayor said before entering a Brooklyn church on Friday morning. “Once they see both sides of the issue, they are going to hear what I have said over and over again, that I did nothing wrong.”
Despite what the survey showed, Adams is still trying to convince city residents that he is still qualified to govern despite the ongoing criminal trial and the resignations of several prominent members of his trust.
Keep reading:
- 69% call for the departure of Mayor Adams of New York accused of federal crimes: survey places him worse than Cuomo in 2021
- Political crisis in New York: mayor counterattacks and accuses the feds of “illegal” leaking of information
- Adams’ Lawyers File Motion to Dismiss Part of Federal Criminal Case Against Him