Housing Czar Maria Torres-Springer to Step Down

First Deputy Mayor Maria Torres-Springer, who oversees the city’s housing and economic development agencies, and deputy mayors Meera Joshi, Anne Williams-Isom and Chauncey Parker are stepping down, the New York Times reported.

The four key officials submitted a joint letter of resignation after the Department of Justice filed a motion to dismiss the corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams.

In a letter to federal prosecutors in Manhattan last week, the DOJ made clear that it expected Adams to help enforce the Trump administration’s deportation policies.

“Due to the extraordinary events of the last few weeks and to stay faithful to the oaths we swore to New Yorkers and our families, we have come to the difficult decision to step down from our roles,” Torres-Springer said in a letter to her staff.

The move has stirred uncertainty around the administration’s housing priorities and spurred calls on the mayor to prove he can continue to lead the city or resign.

Williams-Isom serves as deputy mayor for health and human services; Joshi as the deputy mayor for operations; and Parker as deputy mayor for public safety. The four deputy mayors will stay on temporarily to help with the transition, according to the Times.

Following the news, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams joined the growing number of officials who have called on the mayor to resign.

“This administration no longer has the ability to effectively govern with Eric Adams as mayor,” she said in a statement. “These resignations are the culmination of the mayor’s actions and decisions that have led to months of instability and now compromise the City’s sovereignty, threaten chaos, and risk harm to our families.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul indicated Monday night that she is meeting with “key leaders” on Tuesday to discuss the path forward. She noted her powers as governor, which include the ability to remove the mayor from office.

“In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly,” she said in a statement. “That said, the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”

Torres-Springer took on the role of first deputy mayor in October, following the resignation of Sheena Wright after her home was searched and phone seized as part of the sprawling investigations into the Adams administration.

Torres-Springer’s elevation was seen as a stabilizing force at the time, as she is a veteran of mayoral administrations and who previously led multiple city agencies. When she took on the new role, she kept her portfolio as deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce, and played a key role in getting the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity text amendment approved.

An industry source on Monday called her departure “the antithesis of stabilization,” casting doubt on the administration’s ability to work through its pipeline of real estate projects and advance initiatives supported by the industry. For example, the administration just kicked off a plan to rezone Midtown South, which is projected to bring nearly 9,700 new homes to the area. The mayor has said that rezoning is part of a broader plan to add 100,000 units to Manhattan over the next decade.

Torres-Springer’s responsibilities have grown since January 2022, when she joined the Adams administration. She was originally tapped as deputy mayor of economic and workforce development, but then added the New York City Housing Authority, the Department of Housing Preservation and Development and Housing Development Corporation to her portfolio when Jessica Katz resigned as chief housing officer in 2023.

Having headed the city’s Economic Development Corporation and then HPD under the de Blasio administration, Torres-Springer was well equipped to oversee these agencies as deputy mayor and then as first deputy mayor.

One administration source said that whoever temporarily takes over as first deputy mayor likely won’t be well positioned to navigate the politics of the city’s land use review process. The person said it would make more sense for someone such as City Planning Director Dan Garodnick or Andrew Kimball, president and CEO of the city’s Economic Development Corporation, to step in as a deputy mayor to steer the city’s housing, planning and economic development agencies.

The source noted that the mayor could also reduce the overall number of deputy mayors, as Mayor Ed Koch did in 1979 in what became known as the “Thursday Morning Massacre,” when he reduced the number of deputy mayors from seven to three.

The resignations further weaken the mayor’s bid for re-election. Adams has long been a favorite of the real estate industry, and with the exception of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has not officially jumped in the race, there isn’t an alternative candidate who would be the industry’s obvious favorite.

Comptroller Brad Lander, who is running for mayor, sent Adams a letter on Monday demanding that he submit “a detailed contingency plan outlining how you intend to manage the City of New York” by Friday.

If Adams fails to do so, Lander said he would convene a five-member committee (permitted under the city charter) to vote on whether he is unable to perform his duties as mayor. Two of the members of the committee, Lander and the City Council speaker, have already called for his resignation.