Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York plans to announce on Thursday that she will not exercise her authority to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office at this time, but will seek to impose strict new guardrails on his administration of New York City, according to two officials familiar with her thinking.
Ms. Hochul’s actions could curtail the mayor’s independence at a time when he is battling accusations that he entered a coercive arrangement with the Trump administration in exchange for the federal corruption charges he faces being dropped. It could also further damage his re-election prospects this year, even as it makes it more likely that he will be allowed to serve the remainder of his term.
Ms. Hochul, a Democrat who has been a key ally to the mayor, plans to admonish Mr. Adams for his conduct on Thursday and portray her proposals as necessary to reassure New Yorkers that he is being held accountable.
While Ms. Hochul will say she is not prepared to overturn the will of voters, she is expected to lay out a suite of new oversight measures designed to empower other state and city officials to keep careful watch over Mr. Adams’s team at City Hall.
The steps Ms. Hochul plans to propose include creating a new state deputy inspector general dedicated to New York City; establishing a fund for the city comptroller, public advocate and City Council speaker to hire outside counsel to sue the federal government if the mayor is unwilling to do so; and granting additional funds for the state’s comptroller to scrutinize city finances.
The governor also wants to impose a new rule that would bar the mayor from firing the head of the city’s Department of Investigation without the approval of the state inspector general.
The proposals, which had yet to be finalized ahead of an afternoon announcement, were described by the officials familiar with the governor’s thinking who were not authorized to discuss them publicly.
A spokesman for Mr. Adams did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ms. Hochul has spent days deliberating how to approach Mr. Adams’s future as growing numbers of fellow Democrats call for his resignation or for her to use her constitutional authority to remove him from office.
No governor in New York’s 235-year history has removed a mayor elected by the voters, and people who have spoken with Ms. Hochul about the possibility said it was clear she had grave concerns about the precedent that could be set by doing so now. Mr. Adams has insisted he will not quit voluntarily.
Allies said the governor hoped her plan would help reassure New Yorkers that the city would continue to operate in their interest, not President Trump’s, until voters can select a new mayor during a regularly scheduled election later this year.
Many of Ms. Hochul’s proposals would require legislative approval from the City Council and the State Legislature, and could encounter resistance from allies of Mr. Adams in Albany, or New York lawmakers wary of letting the state take a greater role than it already has in the city’s affairs.
This is a developing story and will be updated.