Top legal adviser to New York City mayor quits as investigations swell
NEW YORK — New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ top legal adviser abruptly resigned over the weekend, the latest sign of instability in the Democratic administration, which is facing multiple federal investigations.
City Hall announced the departure of Lisa Zornberg late Saturday night. She had advised Adams and other city officials on legal strategies for more than a year and often parried legal questions from the press on his behalf. She was not his personal attorney.
“It has been a great honor to serve the city. I am submitting my resignation, effective today, having concluded that I can no longer effectively serve in my capacity. I wish you nothing but the best,” Zornberg wrote in a three-sentence resignation letter to Adams.
The resignations come after the phones of several members of Mayor Eric Adams’ inner circle were tapped. seized by federal investigatorsincluding the chief of the New York City police, who resigned on Thursday.
Zornberg, a former federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office who is now leading a number of investigations into the Adams administration, was not one of the officials whose phones were seized.
Police Chief Edward Caban resigned because of the “distraction” caused by news of the investigations.
Federal authorities have not disclosed the subjects of the investigations. In addition to the police chief, phones were seized from the head of the state school system, a top deputy mayor and two of Adams’ top public safety advisers.
Investigators seized devices from Caban’s twin brother, James Caban, a former NYPD sergeant who runs a nightclub security company. They also conducted searches related to Terence Bankenwho is the brother of Adams’ deputy assistant minister for public safety, Phil Banks, and education chancellor David Banks.
In separate investigations, federal authorities have previously seized Adams’ phones, searched the home of one of his top campaign fundraisers and raided two homes linked to his Asian affairs director.
Adams denies any knowledge of the misconduct.
Adams said an interim replacement for Zornberg would be announced soon.
“We appreciate all the work Lisa has done for our board and, more importantly, the city over the past 13 months,” Adams said in a statement. “These are tough jobs and we don’t expect anyone to stay in them forever. We wish Lisa the very best in her future endeavors.”