Phil Banks, deputy mayor, is latest resignation in scandal-plagued Adams administration

Phil Banks, the deputy mayor for public safety and a longtime confidant to Eric Adams, has resigned in the latest exodus from the scandal-scarred administration.

Banks, a former NYPD chief whose home was raided and his phones seized last month by the FBI, handed in his resignation letter over the weekend, Adams said early Monday.

"He stated he wants to transition to other things with his life, and he doesn’t want this to be a constant burden on the work that we’re doing in the city, and I accepted his resignation," Adams told NY1 in an interview.

It's the latest resignation of controversial aides that have followed Adams' indictment late last month on corruption charges alleging he accepted illicit donations from Turkish nationals and luxury travel in exchange for favorable treatment. He has pleaded not guilty and vowed to fight the charges.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, who has the power to remove Adams, has reportedly pushed him to purge the administration of aides under federal investigation, of which there are at least four.

Last week, Adams accelerated the already hasty departure of his Schools Chancellor, David Banks, who is Phil's brother.

Adams rebuffed critics in 2022 when he appointed his longtime friend Phil Banks to be deputy mayor for public safety. Banks played a role in a corruption case in which he accepted all-expense-paid trips courtesy of men who later pleaded guilty to bribery.

Banks was not criminally charged, but federal prosecutors labeled him an unindicted co-conspirator.

Now Banks is under the alleged corruption spotlight once again.

The federal officials are investigating Banks, who took swift action, unsuccessfully, to get a panic button app made by a company represented by one of his brothers, political consultant Terence Banks, to be adopted by the public schools, according to the news outlet The City.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.