Top Eric Adams Aide Walks Out On City Council, Amid Power Struggle

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams’ fight with his legislative counterparts devolved Wednesday, as one of his top aides walked out of a City Council hearing without taking questions on a controversial bill to expand the body’s powers.

“This, to me, illustrates a contempt for this council, which we have all witnessed with great clarity,” council Speaker Adrienne Adams said as the mayor’s director of intergovernmental affairs, Tiffany Raspberry, exited the stately red chamber.

The dramatic showdown underscored the strained relations between the mayor and the legislative body, populated by his fellow Democrats.

Minutes later at a meeting space uptown, the mayor’s team began to set up its own ad-hoc Charter Revision Commission, widely viewed as a tool to block the council's attempted expansion of its oversight. The meeting was a pro forma affair to announce the appointment of top staff, including another leading Adams adviser, Diane Savino, as executive director.

The mayoral administration had initially refused to testify on the council’s “advice and consent” bill, which would give the council a vote on mayoral appointments to lead 21 agencies in addition to the handful of positions it can currently veto. But two hours into Wednesday’s hearing, Raspberry changed tack. She agreed to read a prepared statement, but would not take questions — explaining that she had not been “formally invited.”

Council Member Lincoln Restler, who chaired the hearing, bristled. He said the legislative body had made clear through conversations over the past week that it wanted somebody from the Adams administration to speak.

Raspberry read testimony opposing the bill, arguing it could delay crucial appointments and discourage talented people from applying, reasoning the process would be “corrupted by politics,” as federal appointments have been.

“Look to our nation’s capital and see a process that is weaponized and politicized to score cheap political points and is a disservice to the American people,” Raspberry said. “This legislation would have the same effect on New Yorkers.”

When Restler asked that she stay and take questions after completing her statement, Raspberry said she was not prepared. After a back and forth over when, and how, she was invited, she thanked the council, stood up from her chair, and walked out of the chamber — all while Restler continued to speak.

Restler has been a particular subject of the Adams administration’s ire, and was even publicly reprimanded by the mayor’s counsel for aggressive questioning about potential conflicts of interest during a hearing earlier this month.

That was just one example of the escalating tensions between the sides of City Hall, following a veto battle over two public safety bills and the council suing the mayor for not implementing a housing voucher bill, among other instances.

Speaker Adams stressed at the hearing that, despite the timing, the bill wasn’t a shot at the administration.

“This is not about taking power away from the mayor at all, but it’s really about the collaborative process, and making sure that we’re getting the right folks into these positions,” she said.

The mayor, a centrist Democrat, found shelter in two Republicans who were the only lawmakers to take his side during the hearing.

Firebrand Council Member Vickie Paladino called the bill “a genuine overreach” that “would lock in progressive control over this entire city.”

Adams has not yet formally nominated his top pick for corporation counsel, Randy Mastro, since he faces widespread opposition in the council. The city’s top lawyer is one of the relatively few appointments that currently requires the council’s input.

City Hall has aggressively fought the expansion of those powers, introducing the Charter Revision Commission shortly after the council’s bill became public. The mayoral commission would keep the council from putting its proposal before the voters this November, as is required for it to take effect.

Adams spokesperson Fabien Levy has denied that the commission was a reaction to the council bill, saying it was actually a response to the law requiring police to report data on even low-level stops. The council overrode the mayor’s veto on that matter earlier this year.

At the charter commission’s first meeting, Vice Chair Hazel Dukes of the NAACP seemed to address the criticism that the commission had only been called to weaken the council, saying she hoped to “get the truth to our communities that we’re here for good government.”

Carlo Scissura, the commission’s chair, immediately backed her up. “We all agree,” he said, “we are here for good government.”