New York City Schools chancellor David Banks on Tuesday became the latest official in Mayor Eric Adams’s inner circle to announce his intention to step down amid a series of federal corruption investigations plaguing city hall.
Banks was one of many city leaders whose phones and other electronic devices were seized by the FBI nearly three weeks ago. Federal investigators also seized phones belonging to Banks’s longtime girlfriend — New York City first deputy mayor Sheena Wright — and his two brothers, New York City deputy mayor for public safety Philip Banks III and consultant Terence Banks. The brothers are reportedly at the center of a federal probe into an alleged bribery scheme involving city contracts.
Multiple news outlets reported Banks’s departure, citing sources familiar with the matter. His decision was revealed in a new letter, which indicated that his retirement plan was well in the works before the federal raids earlier this month.
“During our meeting earlier this year, I advised you that I intend to retire at the end of this calendar year after ensuring the school year got off to a good start,” he wrote to Adams. Banks, who has served New York City’s public schools for nearly 40 years, will resign by the end of December.
“I want to thank Mayor Adams for giving me the opportunity to serve as chancellor,” he said in a separate statement, “and I am immensely proud of the progress we’ve made together — ensuring every child can read, expanding special education and gifted & talented programs, and creating innovative pathways for our students to secure rewarding careers and long-term success.”
Following the federal raids targeting cops and top mayoral aides, New York Police Department commissioner Edward Caban and New York City Hall’s chief legal counsel Lisa Zornberg both resigned effective immediately.
While Caban is not a target of the probe, his twin brother, James, is reportedly being investigated for alleged influence-peddling activities involving his nightclub-security business. Zornberg’s resignation came after the Democratic mayor reportedly rejected her advice to fire several senior administration officials caught in the federal corruption investigations.
On Monday, New York City health commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan tendered his resignation and said he is leaving his post by the end of the year for personal reasons. His decision appears unrelated to any of the federal probes rocking the Adams administration.
Federal prosecutors in Manhattan and Brooklyn are examining at least four separate inquiries, including one into the mayor’s and his campaign’s financial ties to the Turkish government.
So far, no official has been accused of any wrongdoing. However, the federal raids are the latest incident to spur questions about Adams’s ability to run New York City.
In a statement following Banks’s resignation, Adams congratulated his longtime friend in leading the way to improve the city’s public-school system. Banks was the first major appointment of Adams’s mayoral term.
“In less than three years, our city’s public schools have transformed — from ensuring schools were safe and open coming out of the pandemic to a space that has increased our students’ reading scores, math scores, and graduation rates,” Adams said. “We’ve implemented critical initiatives like ‘NYC Reads,’ ‘NYC Solves,’ and universal dyslexia screenings, while also ensuring a seamless and timely coordination with partners to welcome, enroll, and support thousands of newly-arriving students and their families on a citywide scale.”
“We’ve done all this and more on behalf of nearly 1 million public school students, and Chancellor Banks was crucial to getting that done every day. On behalf of all New Yorkers, we thank Chancellor Banks for his service, and wish him well in his retirement at the end of the calendar year.”