New York City mayor Eric Adams was indicted last Wednesday on charges of fraud, bribery and conspiracy, inciting a slew of calls for his resignation from politicians and observers. At NYU, changes to the city’s mayoral administration could limit the university’s administrative and social operations, higher education experts told WSN. 

NYU could face “pressure” to conform to new regulations if Adams is replaced by “a more progressive” candidate, David Bloomfield — an expert in education law who teaches at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York Graduate Center — told WSN. Currently, public advocate Jumaane Williams would take over as acting mayor in the case that Adams resigns or is removed from office before the end of his term in 2025.

Bloomfield said that policy changes under a new administration could subject NYU to zoning initiatives that limit university operations and land use. NYU is currently suing the city for zoning provisions that could restrict its expansion in NoHo and SoHo. The provisions, which are designed to promote economic diversity and public welfare, have been met with support from progressive policymakers who advocate for affordable housing and accessibility.

In 2021, Williams introduced a bill that would require anyone who proposes a major land-use project — such as those targeted in zoning provisions — to report its projected effect on racial and ethnic disparity in the area. Nicholas Marricco, an attorney specializing in higher education law, said that while most legislation governing private institutions is at the state or federal level, mayoral administrations have the authority to control zoning initiatives. 

“The only issue I can see here is perhaps an increased focus on building government housing near NYU,” Marricco said in a statement to WSN. “But if it didn’t happen under Mayor Adams, I would be shocked if it happened under another administration.”

Bloomfield also said that new policymakers could push for “less automatic” cooperation between city police and NYU’s administration. Marricco agreed with Bloomfield and said that a new mayor could “order a limitation” on the New York City Police Department’s presence at NYU’s Washington Square and Brooklyn campuses.  

While Adams is characterized for his pro-business stance and police background, Williams has spent his political career reforming the NYPD. In 2022, Williams introduced a bill that would require officers to document the race, gender and ages of civilian they encounter — a policy Adams accused of burdening police — and he had sponsored a similar act in 2013.

Since NYU authorized the NYPD to sweep pro-Palestinian encampments in Gould Plaza and outside the Paulson Center last semester — resulting in the arrests of dozens of students, faculty and alumni — on-campus groups have called on the university to remove police from campus. 

Last Tuesday, New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks joined several other members of the Adams administration in announcing his resignation, set to begin in January. The next day — hours before his indictment — Adams appointed Banks’ deputy and former chief of staff, Melissa Aviles-Ramos, as the city’s new schools chancellor. Ann Marcus, director of the Steinhardt Institute for Higher Education Policy, told WSN that she foresees that the change in the city’s educational leadership will have “no impact” on the university itself. 

“The past two days have probably been felt mostly by the scores, maybe thousands, of NYU faculty, staff and student parents whose children are in the public schools,” Marcus told WSN the day after Adams’ indictment. “Beyond NYU, we are residents of NYC.”

After a nearly yearlong federal investigation, Adams was charged for accepting bribes and illegal campaign contributions from Turkish government officials during his 2021 mayoral campaign. Adams, who said he will not step down and has denied the charges, appeared at his arraignment before a Federal District Court of Manhattan on Friday, where he pleaded not guilty. On Monday, his lawyers asked a federal judge to rescind the bribery charge against Adams, arguing that the accusations outlined in the indictment did not satisfy the federal definition of bribery. 

An NYU spokesperson declined to comment on this story.

Contact Mariapaula Gonzalez at [email protected].