Protesters amassed in Manhattan over the weekend, urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to remove Eric Adams as mayor of New York City amid quid pro quo allegations involving the Trump administration. NBC New York’s Charles Watson reports.
Protesters amassed in Lower Manhattan urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to step in an remove Eric Adams as mayor of New York City, alleging he's being held hostage by a quid pro quo with the Trump administration.
"What do we want? Adams out!" protesters shouted Sunday. "When do we want it? Now!"
Hundreds of people braved the rain to hold what they called an emergency rally to call on Hochul to exercise her power to remove Mayor Adams from his post.
Watch NBC 4 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE"It's her responsibility to remove him from office," Alicé Nascimento, with New York Communities for Change, said.
Outrage has brewed for days following Adams' meeting last week with Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, where the two committed to working together on the president's crackdown on illegal immigration.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox with NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP "We came out Thursday with a plan in how we can get in Rikers Island in the Criminal Intelligence Division, so we can understand who's in there, who's foreign-born in Rikers Island that's a significant public safety threat," Homan said.
The meeting happened on the same day the former prosecutor in charge of Adams' federal corruption case resigned from the Southern District of New York while alleging in a letter that the mayor offered to help the Trump administration with immigrations efforts if the Department of Justice dropped the charges against him.
News
The case was in fact dropped, but Homan and an attorney for Adams deny any deal.
Meanwhile, the mayor delivered a message of faith and perseverance before parishioners at a Queens church on Sunday morning.
"Every new level brought a new devil," Adams said at the service. Outside, he shrugged off calls for his resignation when questioned about the Sunday protest.
"There are 8.3 million people in the city. Are there going to be 8.3 million people there?"
The message at the rally was clear: protesters weren't going to stand for a mayor who they allege is sacrificing the freedoms of others for his own.
"This city is made of immigrants. That's who keeps this place running and we're here to say that we're not going to stand for this," Nascimento said.
Hochul has called the allegations against Adams "extremely concerning," but so far, the governor has stopped short of saying she would remove him from power.
