City council members and political observers said Sunday they were shocked by the sudden resignation of Mayor Eric Adams' chief legal adviser, with a source adding that “the timing couldn't be worse.”
The shocking resignation Saturday night of former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Lisa Zornberg, who had been City Hall's lead counsel since July 2023, has left observers more concerned than ever about Adam's shaky administration, which is reeling from a series of recent federal investigations targeting senior aides.
“timing [of Zornberg’s resignation] “It couldn't get any worse,” political commentator Ken Friedman told The Post. “She denied her client, Eric Adams, a lead attorney at a time when he and City Hall needed him most.”
Several city politicians agreed, with City Councilwoman Joan Arriola, a Queens Republican, saying the resignation was “emblematic of the disarray we see at the highest levels of city government.”
“This is becoming more of a concern every day,” said Oswald Ferris, a Bronx Democrat.
Mr. Zonberg's sudden decision to resign came as federal investigators surrounded Mr. Adams' inner circle, including his top aides, his political allies and senior administration officials.
Before coming to City Hall, Zornberg served as chief of criminal investigations for the Southern District of New York from 2016 to 2018, according to his LinkedIn profile.
She left that position to join the law firm DeBevoise & Plimpton, where she worked for four years as a member of the white-collar crime and regulatory defense group, according to her profile.
She became city counsel last summer, replacing Brendan McGuire, who is serving as an unrelated attorney in the mayor's campaign fundraising investigation. According to the New York Times.
When Mayor Adams appointed Zornberg as the city's chief legal officer, he called her “the right leader at the right time.”
“Her track record speaks for itself,” he said. He said this at a press conference announcing his choice.
“I sat down at the final interview and asked myself, why? [she wanted to work here]And she says, “Public life is a great service.”
“S“She wanted to continue it and she was totally committed to it,” he said, “and we're really happy that she decided to do that.”“
Sonberg, meanwhile, said he told Adams he was “an honest man. I don't lie.”
“The mayor looked me in the eye and said, 'That's what I want,'” Sonberg said at the time.
“I am deeply grateful to Mayor Adams for the opportunity to serve the city, and I strongly support the work he has done and will continue to do for New Yorkers,” Sonberg said in a statement Saturday.
Adams told reporters at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the African American Day Parade in Harlem on Sunday that Zonberg “is looking forward to moving on to the next phase of his professional life.”
“She continued to work for me for over a year after my former counsel left to go back into private practice,” Hizzoner said, “and, you know, I don't share private conversations or what we talked about, but there were no new developments.”
She denied that she was embroiled in the federal investigation that led to the firing of Police Commissioner Edward Cavan, who resigned Thursday, just a week after federal agents raided his Rockland County home on corruption charges.
“Listen, I’m not going to go into detail about that, but first of all, [going] “I don't want any insinuation so I have to say no to that,” Adams said.
The mayor cited Sonberg's recent COVID-19 diagnosis, during which he was quarantined at Gracie Mansion last week, as one of the reasons his resignation was made public late Saturday.
“She was sick with COVID last week and everything,” he said. “She left of her own volition… Look, it's never nice to see someone of Lisa's calibre leave. [leave]She loves the city.
“Not only has she been a great advisor, friend and confidant, but she brings a lot of experience to the administration,” he said. “But she wants to pursue other things in life, and I respect that.”
Adams said he is searching for her replacement and plans to make an announcement “in the coming days.”
But the mayor's air of confidence did nothing to ease concerns among city council members that Sonnberg's resignation was a bad sign — a very bad sign.
“Apart from the attack, I think this is the most significant event that has happened in the last two weeks,” said a city council source who asked not to be named.
“When an attorney suddenly resigns, it raises the question of whether continuing to serve as the mayor's top lawyer would violate her legal ethics, as that's what it usually means,” the source said. “Is she advising her clients that he's not a lawyer, or is she just a lawyer?” [following] Or, secondly, it could simply be that she doesn't want her reputation to be tarnished by this.
“In her resignation letter, she said she was 'no longer able to perform her duties effectively,'” the source said. “This indicates that she feels there is only so much she can do given the current circumstances.”
Brooklyn Democrat Lincoln Ressler said Sonnberg “vigorously defended the administration at every turn until 10pm on Saturday night.”
“Her sudden resignation means the administration has reached a point where she can no longer defend it,” Ressler said.
Political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said the timing was especially bad for the embattled Democratic mayor.
“It's not good to have uncertainty during a corruption investigation,” he said. “It creates doubts.”
Queens Democrat Robert Holden agreed.
“At the very least, it certainly looks bad. This leads to the argument that 'it's time to get off the ship,'” Holden said. “Only time will tell how bad this actually is.”
“But it's never a good sign when a lawyer quits.”
