Hochul Declines To Remove Adams From Office + Trump Executive Orders Revoke Federal Funds and Approvals Across The City
No. 415 | Monday, February 24, 2025
The NYC Thorn is a weekly roundup of local political news compiled by members of NYC-DSA. We Are Looking for New Volunteers to Join our Editorial Team! If you are interested, please contact us:
Local News
Governor Kathy Hochul declined to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office, opting for various oversight measures to closely monitor City Hall, which are now awaiting approval from State and City legislatures.
In the wake of the Department of Justice's decision to drop corruption charges against Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayors Maria Torres-Springer, Anne Williams-Isom, and Meera Joshi have announced their resignations, citing ethical concerns and political turmoil.
A Trump executive order suspending refugee admissions has caused major disruptions for New York resettlement agencies, forcing layoffs and leaving refugees without essential services like caseworkers and financial aid. Additionally, the Trump administration is ending a Temporary Protected Status program for Haitians, putting hundreds of thousands at risk of deportation; New York City is home to the United States' second-largest Haitian immigrant population.
The Trump administration revoked federal approval for congestion pricing, a widely embraced measure to raise billions of dollars for critical transportation upgrades and repairs. The MTA is suing to challenge the federal order.
Rent-stabilized units in New York City are being reintroduced to the affordable housing market following violations.
Tenants at the Jacob Riis Houses, a New York City Housing Authority complex in the East Village, will vote on whether to shift to private management through the PACT program or stay under the current Section 9 federal funding model.
Mayor Adams is implicated in improper evidence protocol in the Luigi Mangione case. An attorney for Mangione has stated that the NYPD chief of detectives and Adams have discussed evidence with HBO for a documentary which has not been turned over to Mangione’s defense team.
City Hall is suing the federal government over an $80 million clawback of funds intended to shelter newly arrived migrants. City Comptroller Brad Lander referred to the unilateral withdrawal of duns as a “weaponizing [of] government payments to support unchecked federal executive power, in violation of the law” by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The money was previously appropriated to the City by the Biden administration.
Governor Hochul has deployed the National Guard in response to a wildcat strike by hundreds of prison guards. As the strike has spread to nearly every state prison, first-hand accounts cite lack of meals and medication, visit cancellations, and general “chaos.” The strike is fueled by opposition to the HALT Solitary Confinement Act, which limits the use of solitary confinement and enacts other guardrails to protect incarcerated people. Furthermore, the strike is happening as multiple correctional officers are being criminally charged for alleged roles in the murder of Robert Brooks in December 2024; three officers are charged with manslaughter, and five are charged with murder.
Striking Alamo Drafthouse workers will stage pickets at the Manhattan office of the theater company’s new parent company, Sony Picture Entertainment, expanding the picketing locations of a strike that began February 14. Alamo United, a union formed in October 2023 by staff at the Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn theater locations, called for a strike to demand a fair bargaining process.
Election News
As New Yorkers shun Eric Adams for his apparent quid pro quo relationship with the Trump administration, his rumored bid to run as a Republican is now foreclosed on: Adams needed 3 of the 5 GOP county parties to back him, and all five have endorsed radio personality Curtis Sliwa, who previously ran against Adams during the 2021 general election as the Republican nominee.
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is weighing a mayoral run with support from Attorney General Letitia James. She would join a field of eight candidates jockeying for the Democratic nomination, which notably does not yet include former Governor Andrew Cuomo who has still not officially entered the race.
DSA-endorsed mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani introduced a plan to revitalize the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, increasing fines on negligent landlords, and restoring funding for tenant legal assistance.
The NYC Local
Our chapter's labor newsletter, The Local, arrives every other week with a focus on labor organizing, bargaining, and local legislation that impacts NYC's workers. Give them a follow here.