Maria Torres-Springer to Step In as Deputy Mayor Amid Adams’s Bribery Scandal

New York Mayor Eric Adams continues to swap players as allegations of bribery and other misdeeds force out members of his administration’s higher ranks.

This time, Adams is replacing First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, a longtime Adams ally who resigned Tuesday thanks to the ongoing federal investigation into the administration and Adams’s campaign which has led to indictments, including Hizzoner himself. Wright’s replacement will be Maria Torres-Springer.

Torres-Springer, currently the deputy mayor for housing, economic development and workforce, will take over as deputy mayor, Adams announced Tuesday. Her promotion comes after years in public service, including within the administrations of former mayors Bill de Blasio and Michael Bloomberg.

It’s unclear who will replace Torres-Springer in her current role.

“[Torres-Springer’s] more than two decades of experience leading multiple city agencies and executing on one of the most successful housing and economic development agendas in the city’s history will serve as a solid foundation for our administration and best position us for the future,” Adams said in a statement.

Over the course of her two decades in government, Torres-Springer has served as president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and commissioner of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, both under de Blasio.

“Throughout three mayoral administrations and leading three city agencies, my focus has been to provide steady, effective leadership while delivering tangible results for every New Yorker in every neighborhood,” Torres-Springer said in a statement. “Serving this city has been my life’s work.”

Torres-Springer stepped into the role of deputy mayor of housing, economic and workforce development in May 2023 after Adams’s chief housing officer, Jessica Katz, stepped down after a little over a year.

But the turnover in Adams’s administration kicked into overdrive in recent weeks. Over the course of the last year, Adams staffers have been the subject of raids, searches and subpoenas by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation leading to the resignation of half a dozen of the mayor’s top aides. 

So far, Adams is the only one who has been indicted — with the exception of community affairs liaison Mohamed Bahi on Monday — with the feds releasing a report on his alleged connections to the Turkish government over the years.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has played a major part in the departures by placing pressure on Adams to clean up his administration and replace those under scrutiny with “trusted public servants,” the Gothamist reported. 

Hochul went as far as to call the departure of Tim Pearson, who has been at the center of controversy, “a good first step,” according to Gothamist.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.