While Mayor Eric Adams may escape prosecution on federal corruption charges amid a shocking turn by the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump, the move has thrown fuel on the political fire around him.

An avalanche of criticism followed the highly unusual move by the DOJ, including the for Adams to resign from local elected officials.

Adams has adamantly refused to heed those calls, and stridently defended himself and the job he has done. In the days after the DOJ news broke, he told a Baptist calling them “liars.”

But his future could change in a New York minute. Adams wouldn’t be the first mayor to resign amid a corruption scandal; Jimmy Walker did in 1932, and William O’Dwyer in 1950.

If he doesn’t leave office voluntarily, there are two ways he could be forced out. Here’s a guide on each:

Who has the power to remove the mayor?

The governor can push out the New York City mayor, or a City Charter-mandated “inability committee” can do it.

Let’s start with the committee.

According to the City Charter — essentially the city’s constitution — a special committee can convene to remove a mayor. It would be made up of five people:

• The corporation counsel, who is the top attorney who represents the city.
• The city comptroller, who is currently Brad Lander.
• The speaker of the City Council, now Adrienne Adams.
• One deputy mayor to be selected by the current mayor.
• And the borough president who has served the most consecutive years in office, currently Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

The Charter doesn’t specify how the inability committee would begin. As of mid-February, only Lander has said publicly that he wants to start the group. And Speaker Adams, who holds lots of power in the City Council, indicated she thinks of the committee as something to be used only in the event that the mayor is not physically able to serve.

She said on Feb. 18 the committee is “inapplicable for this situation.”

“The name in itself tells us that means that someone is unable to fulfill their duties in their capacity. This mayor — as [Queens Borough President] Donovan [Richards] said this morning — is still very much breathing, thank God,” she said Feb. 18.

If it is convened, the committee would vote to form a of the entire City Council, which has 51 . The committee would need at least four out of five to vote yes and create that Council-wide .

How can the governor remove the mayor?

Gov. Kathy Hochul has the ability to remove New York City’s mayor from office.

If Hochul wanted to suspend Adams, she would serve him with charges. We don’t know exactly what that would look like because it has only happened once before, in 1932. That’s when Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the then-governor of New York, began investigating corrupt mayor Jimmy Walker and held a trial in Albany.

But under pressure, Walker resigned and fled to Europe before any official steps to remove him could be taken.

If Hochul brings charges, Adams would have a chance to defend himself. Then the governor would decide personally whether to remove him.

She is currently weighing her options. On Feb. 18, Hochul met with a parade of leaders to seek their counsel about the situation, saying “the alleged conduct at City Hall that has been reported over the past two weeks is troubling and cannot be ignored.”

What happens once he leaves? Who becomes the mayor?

That’s a whole other story and process, which you can read about here.

Has this ever happened before?

No it hasn’t! New York’s governor has never removed a mayor of New York City from office and an inability committee has never formed to remove a mayor. If either option happens, it would be a first.

In 2019 and 2020, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced calls to remove then-Mayor Bill de Blasio for campaigning for president and his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but did not act on those recommendations. 

And FDR didn’t have a chance to remove Walker in 1932 after that mayor resigned.

Additional reporting by Katie Honan.