What Happens If the Mayor Steps Down? Your Guide to NYC's Rules of Succession and Special Election
Only two New York City mayors have ever resigned: Jimmy Walker in 1932, and William O’Dwyer in 1950. And though both mayors left office due to corruption scandals, neither were ever criminally charged the way Adams has been.
However, the New York City Charter — the document outlining all rules for city government — has changed in the last 75 years, and if Adams were to leave office today, it would trigger a new process for replacing him that has never been enacted before.
Esther Fuchs, a professor International and Public Affairs and Political Science at Columbia, says that she understands why we’re looking to history to make sense of the present — but that this situation is unique.
“We’re in a particular moment where historical precedent is not really that relevant, to be honest,” Fuchs told THE CITY. “I’ve never seen anything like this, you know I’ve been working in this space for a long time.”
https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/02/18/what-happens-if-eric-adams-leaves-office-succession-explainer/