9 officials resign from City Hall amid Adams federal indictment
LOWER MANHATTAN (WABC) -- As the Adams administration fights to maintain public confidence, there has been another round of departures from City Hall.
By the close of business Monday, a total of four people resigned including, Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, Philip Banks.
Banks, who is a close friend of Mayor Adams, spent years with the police department as he rose through the ranks. In 2014, he found himself in hot water amid a different corruption scandal during the prior administration.
Adams brought him back to serve inside City Hall in this high-profile role; but just last month, Banks had his phones seized as part of a current federal probe.
Banks' attorney issued a statement Monday, saying there is no indication that he is a target of an investigation
Joining the deputy mayor were Winne Greco, Rana Abbasova and Mohammed Bah. Other notable names to step down from their roles include former police commissioner Edward Caban, outgoing school chancellor David Banks, health commissioner Ashwin Vasan, advisor to the mayor Tim Pearson, and legal advisor Lisa Zornberg.
Robert Boyce, former NYPD chief and ABC News contributor, said the City Hall shakeup is a directive from New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
"This comes directly from Governor Hochul. She said to clean house. She wants to see changes and that's what she's seeing right now," he said.
Meanwhile, David Birdsell, Kean University Provost, said many people are under the assumption that the corruption within the administration is being carried out by people with key roles.
"It looks like, right now, that administration is losing its most senior officials. At least many people believe because there is some corruption at the heart of the administration," Bridsell said.
Mayor Adams is set to hold his weekly Q&A session, which would be his second since being indicted.
Last week he was bombarded with questions regarding the charges in his five-count indictment.
This all comes as the Mayor continues to reassure residents across New York City that he can govern while defending himself against the federal government.
ALSO READ: Debate emerges over whether Eric Adams should resign as mayor of New York City
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