Scandal-plagued Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks has resigned under weeks of pressure amid a federal investigation that ensnared both him and his longtime friend, Mayor Eric Adams. a source told the Post.
The resignation, filed Sunday night, is the latest high-profile departure from the Adams administration, according to people familiar with the matter, and is sure to raise further questions about the mayor’s ability to withstand himself after the historic federal indictment. .
Adams has been busy in recent weeks trying to convince embattled government officials to resign as Gov. Kathy Hochul pressures the mayor to clean up the city.
“We talked about it yesterday, we talked about it this morning,” Adams said Monday morning on NY1 when asked about the Post’s report on the bank president’s resignation.
“He has stated that he wants to move on with his life and does not want this to be an ongoing burden to the work he does for the city, so I have accepted his resignation.” said Hizzoner.
“I wish my friend well,” he added, praising his work in city government.
City Hall did not respond to requests for comment.
Federal agents searched Banks’ home in Queens early on September 4 and seized his devices.
Mr. Banks has since resisted calls for his resignation, including from the Post’s editorial board, which intensified as more details about the federal investigation emerged.
Sources told The Post that Banks had wanted to resign for months, but after the federal raid, the deputy mayor wanted to stay and fight. . Ultimately, however, it became clear that it was in the best interest of Mr. Adams and his administration to resign.
Records show companies said to be working with Terrence Banks that won public pilot deals include app maker Saferwatch, tech companies Deliv Technologies and SVAM International, and grocery delivery app Mercato. etc. are included.
His resignation comes after his and Adams’ friend Tim Pearson, a former NYPD police officer who served as the mayor’s top aide and oversaw immigration security contracts, also resigned amid federal scrutiny. It was done.
The uproar comes as Adams faces five criminal charges in a federal bombshell indictment.
The federal investigation into Mr. Banks will focus on whether Mr. Banks steered the city’s contracts to companies represented by his brother Terrence’s consulting firm, which has secured millions of dollars worth of contracts with the city, officials said. It was said that the focus was on
Companies said to be working with Terrence Banks that won public contracts include app maker Saferwatch, tech companies Deliv Technologies and SVAM International, and grocery store delivery app developer SVAM International, records show. Includes Mercato, etc.
Sources say both Banks and his younger brother are regulars at Manhattan’s trendy nightclubs.
Banks has long been a controversial and influential figure in the Adams administration.
As deputy mayor for public safety, Banks was seen by many as a kind of shadow police commissioner. Mr. Adams repeatedly ignored his first top NYPD officer, Keychant-Sewell, who became so frustrated that he eventually resigned, sources said.
And Mr. Banks also arrived with significant baggage from his tenure with the NYPD. He rose through the ranks to become director, but abruptly resigned in 2014 before being promoted to first deputy director.
At the time, Banks said he resigned because he was dissatisfied with his promotion, but later became involved in a wide-ranging bribery scandal involving Jonah Rechnitz and Jeremy Reichberg, who paid police officers with prostitutes and jewelry. It turns out he retired under federal surveillance.
Federal authorities named Mr. Banks as an unindicted co-conspirator and discovered $300,000 in mysterious transactions in his account.
Despite the scandal, Adams hired Banks as deputy mayor for security in 2022. This position has not been held by a mayor for 30 years. The appointment also raised eyebrows because City Hall officials did not immediately request an employment exemption for Banks. Banks needed to qualify for a $252,000 salary while receiving a six-figure annual pension from his time as a police officer.
Adams defended the hiring of Banks and others against accusations of nepotism, saying he was hiring “the best people for the job.”
Banks’ tenure was marked by hostile interactions with reporters, questions about his rental car company’s signing of the MTA contract, and ties to Pearson, who won the City Hall job despite a rocky past. It was done.
