Two Banks Brothers, Once Part of Adams Inner Circle, Heading to Exits in Ongoing Turmoil
As investigations swirl, Mayor Eric Adams is said to have pushed his Education Chancellor David Banks, whose home was raided by federal agents on Sept. 4, out the door speeding up his resignation date to Oct. 16 instead of year end. Then on Oct. 7, his brother Phillip Banks, the deputy mayor of public safety, resigned as well.
| 07 Oct 2024 | 02:17
David Banks, seen at a Congressional hearing on education while he was still NYC Education Chancellor, said late last month he was going to retire at year end but now says he is leaving Oct. 16 and blames it on Eric Adams who demanded he leave early. His brother Phil Banks, deputy mayor of public safety said on Oct. 7 he is also resigning from the Adams administration. (
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Many of the top aids to Eric Adams (center) have had their phones seized in raids by federal agents including first deputy mayor Sheena Wright (left of Adams) seen at a weekly press conference earlier this summer. Deputy Mayor Ingrid Lewis-Martin (right of Adams) had her phone seized by investigators from the Manhattan district attorneys office after she returned from a trip to Japan. Chief counsel Lisa Zornberg (third from left) resigned Sept. 14, reportedly after clashing with Adams. (
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Two of the Banks brothers, who were once part of the inner circle of Mayor Eric Adams, have resigned amid at least four federal investigations and the indictment of Adams himself.
Phillip Banks the deputy mayor of public safety said on Oct. 7 he was resigning, joining his brother, School Chancellor David Banks in heading for the exit.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, the longtime romantic partner of David Banks, is also said to be ready to step down but as of presstime had not officially resigned. David Banks and Wright, who married in a small ceremony on Marthas Vineyard on Sept. 28, were among a number of top officials in the Adams administration who had their homes raid by the FBI and federal investigators on Sept. 4.
Philip Banks and the then NYPD Commissioner Ed Caban also had their homes raided that day.
David Banks had originally announced on Sept. 28 that he was stepping down at the end of the year, but last week said he is being forced to leave the job that pays $363,000 a year on Oct. 16 at the behest of Adams.
At least six top aids to Adams are gone as up to four separate federal investigations swirl. Adams himself was hit with a five count federal corruption indictment on Sept. 26. Adams has proclaimed his innocence and has defiantly resisted calls to step down while he fights the charges.
But his aids are heading to the exits in droves.
Caban resigned a week after the raid, saying he did not want to be a “distraction” to the NYPD.
”I was ready, willing and able to stay in my post until December 31st to conduct a responsible transition for our staff, the mayor has decided to accelerate that timeline,” David Banks said in a statement released on Oct. 9. But he said “the mayor has decided to accelerate the timeline.”
Terrence Banks, a consultant who does a lot of work with city agencies, also had his home raided on Sept. 4.
Lisa Zornberg, the chief counsel of the mayor resigned suddenly on Sept. 14 reportedly because Adams resisted her recommendation that some of the aids whose homes were raided by feds in the ongoing corruption probes, should be let go including Phil Banks, Winnie Greco, the liaison to the Asian-American community and Tim Pearson.
It was always going to be an awkward situation with David Banks. A day after Banks Sept. 25 announcement about his decision to leave at year end the mayor had promoted deputy chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, a former teacher and principal from the Bronx, to succeed Banks.
”I will do everything in my power to ensure that students and teachers do not experience any changes or disruptions during this transition,” Banks said in his farewell note. “I remain deeply grateful to the children and families of New York City whom I’ve had the great privilege of serving these past 40 years.”
Reports are swirling that Governor Kathy Hochul, who actually has the power to remove the mayor, is pushing Adams to prune his staff of troubled aids, even as she has not pushed for Adams ouster.
Adams acknowledged in his weekly press avail with reporters on Oct. 1 that he had been in contact with Governor Hochul in recent days.
Among the most recent aids to resign was Tim Pearson, who had an ill-defined role in awarding city contracts. He announced on September 30 that he’d be gone by Oct. 4.
Hochul in an unrelated press conference had called Pearson’s resignation, who is facing claims of sexual harassment from some staffers, a “good first step” and said she is keeping a close eye on the embattled mayor.
“I’m just letting him know that we’re monitoring the situation,” said Hochul when the question came up at an unrelated press conference. “We expect changes. That’s not a secret. And changes are beginning,” she said.
The city health commissioner Ashwin Vasan also recently announced his decision to leave at year end, but it appears to be one of the few resignations of a top lieutenant that was not tied to the ongoing federal probes and Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh resigned in mid-July, and has not been linked to any of the ongoing investigations. Her predecessor, Dan Ngro, did surface in the indictment against Adams but he was not named in the indictment, only described by title. The “fire commissioner” was said to have been contacted by candidate Adams in 2021, two months before the election and asked to look into what was holding up the fire inspections of skyscraper that the Turkish government had built near the UN. It is a key part of the bribery portion of the five count indictment against Adams.