Her phones were seized and her husband, NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks, was pushed out earlier in the week. Now, First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is set to become the latest high ranking official headed for the City Hall door. Her resignation is anticipated as early as Friday evening as Gov. Kathy Hochul pushes Mayor Eric Adams to clean house in order to steady the ship. NBC New York’s Melissa Russo reports.
Another top member of the Eric Adams administration is saying goodbye to City Hall.
First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright is expected to resign as soon as Friday night, according to two sources with knowledge of the situation. She would become the latest domino to fall as investigations swirl around the New York City mayor and members of his administration.
At this point, the continuing departures appear to be less of a sign of chaos and more about New York Gov. Kathy Hochul forcing Adams to bring stability to City Hall one week after the mayor pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and campaign fraud charges.
Adams' right hand, Wright's imminent resignation comes days after Hochul indicated there would be more changes, following the abrupt resignation of another senior aide, Tim Pearson. Former NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban has also resigned. City Hall's chief counsel was the first to jump ship.
"I'm having great conversations with the governor...I have some great deputy mayors," Adams said Friday.
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Wright, who has been in her role since Jan. 2023, was among multiple senior New York City officials, including the mayor himself, to have her phone seized as part of the ongoing investigations. Her Harlem home was searched — and devices seized while warrants were executed there — early last month.
Wright shares that home with outgoing NYC Schools Chancellor David Banks. Banks recently announced retirement plans that would transition him out at the end of the year, but he later said Adams sped up the timeline. Now he'll be out by mid-October.
Wright has denied any wrongdoing, but she also faces questions about a vote to grant a city contract to her brother-in-law's former security firm.
When reached by NBC News, a lawyer for Wright had no comment. Earlier in the afternoon, a City Hall spokesperson said "As always, no personnel changes are confirmed until it’s announced.”
A source close to Adams told NBC New York there are three leading contenders when it comes to possible replacements for Wright: Maria Torres-Springer, who currently serves as the deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce; Jessie Tisch, the current sanitation commissioner; and Camille Joseph Varlack, the current chief of staff for Mayor Adams.
Banks and Wright were married over the final weekend of September in a private ceremony on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. He told TV station Fox 5 on Wednesday that neither he nor Wright were “targets” of any investigation. He denied that they wed so they could invoke spousal privilege, a legal concept that protects communications between married couples and shields them from having to testify about anything happening during their marriage.
“I think anybody that would criticize me has probably never been in love,” Banks told the station. “The reality is that Sheena and I have been together for quite some time. We’ve been planning our marriage for a while.” Banks said he and Wright were motivated to get married because of their parents' ages and health issues, “and any suggestion otherwise to me is just ridiculous on its face.”
Despite polls showing more than two-thirds of New Yorkers want him to resign, Adams has vowed to stay in office after pleading not guilty last week to charges that he accepted about $100,000 worth of free or deeply discounted international flights, hotel stays, meals and entertainment, and sought illegal campaign contributions from foreign interests.
If Adams does not resign, 63% of New Yorkers would want Hochul to take steps to remove him, the poll found. In response to the Marist poll, the mayor said Friday that voters will come around when they hear his side of the story.
At a hearing Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Hagan Scotten said prosecutors are pursuing “several related investigations” and that it is “likely” additional defendants will be charged and “possible” that more charges will be brought against Adams.
The Justice Department defines a “target” of an investigation as someone who prosecutors or a grand jury have gathered substantial evidence against that links the person to a crime — as opposed to a “subject,” someone whose conduct is merely within the scope of the investigation. Those definitions are fluid and can change as new information develops.
