A majority of New York City’s Commission on Gender Equity called on Friday for Mayor Eric Adams to resign if he does not lay out a strategy for defending transgender New Yorkers, women and immigrants against the Trump administration’s threats to those groups’ rights.
Sixteen commissioners appointed by Mr. Adams said in a letter that they had “lost confidence” that he would “stand up and defend our city’s sanctuary policies when we know that women and families will bear the brunt of the chaos of ICE terrorizing immigrant communities.”
Mr. Adams, the commissioners continued, “has provided a weak and inadequate response to directives of the Trump administration to peel back rights and protections for trans New Yorkers.”
The letter’s signers demanded that the mayor detail, within a week, his plans for protecting the rights of transgender and nonbinary residents to receive gender affirming care; protecting immigrants and enforcing the city’s sanctuary laws; and providing access to reproductive health services and fighting cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs.
“Without this assurance to fulfill his promise and electoral obligation to New Yorkers, as well as the mandate of his Commission on Gender Equity, Mayor Adams must resign,” the letter said.
The commission currently lists 28 members on its website. A spokeswoman for those who signed the letter said they would most likely resign if their demands were not met.
Amaris Cockfield, a spokeswoman for Mr. Adams, responded to the commissioner’s demands by asserting that the mayor had “dedicated his career to equity and providing support to New York City’s most vulnerable communities.”
She cited a $43 million administration plan to promote gender equity, and noted that Mr. Adams had spoken out about the potential cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
Some city officials and civic leaders fear that Mr. Adams is beholden to Mr. Trump after the Justice Department’s move to dismiss a five-count federal corruption indictment against the mayor. The original federal prosecutor leading the case cited a quid pro quo, accusing the mayor of agreeing to help the Trump administration with its plans for the mass deportation of immigrants in exchange for the dismissal of the charges.
Four deputy mayors submitted their resignations after the move for dismissal, citing concerns about where the mayor’s loyalties lay. Gov. Kathy Hochul held meetings to discuss whether Mr. Adams should be removed from office but eventually proposed limiting his power as mayor.
Sherry Leiwant, one of the commission members who signed the letter, said she and others were concerned that Mr. Adams was compromised as a result of the move to drop the charges.
“He may well not be able to do the right thing,” said Sherry Leiwant, a founder and senior adviser for A Better Balance, a legal advocacy group focused on workers rights.
Mr. Adams has argued forcefully that he is not beholden to Mr. Trump and would not violate city laws on behalf of the federal government. The mayor has said he is opposed to mass deportations and will uphold New York’s sanctuary laws, which limit cooperation with the federal immigration authorities. Nonetheless, he recently said he would sign an executive order allowing federal immigration officers into the Rikers Island jail complex.
The Adams administration recently sued the federal government after it took $80 million from city bank accounts that had previously been awarded to help pay for migrant shelters.
Another commission member, Seher Khawaja, said it was critical that the mayor stand up to what she called the “comprehensive and relentless attacks by the Trump administration” on the rights of immigrants, L.G.B.T.Q. New Yorkers and reproductive health services.
On his first day in office, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to recognize individuals as the “immutable biological classification as either male or female” as assigned at birth. The order has changed federal policy on everything from how people are identified on passports to how they are treated in prison.
“While many people who work for the city remain committed, that has not been the response from our mayor,” Ms. Khawaja, the deputy legal director of Legal Momentum, an advocacy group for women, said. “How do we advise our communities to stand up for their rights when we don’t have assurances that the agencies we rely on will?”
Members of the commission, which was established in 2020 to study inequities facing women, girls and transgender individuals, said they were worried about the city’s commitment to their goals even before Mr. Trump took office.
The panel has been without an executive director for more than a year. City officials said they were in the process of filling the vacancy.
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