Mayor Adams ditches controversial form for elected officials' interactions with his administration

New York Mayor Eric Adams is scrapping a controversial online form required for elected officials who want to interact with his administration, including agency heads, a City Hall spokesperson told Gothamist on Monday.

The Adams administration agreed to repeal the policy after local lawmakers introduced a veto-proof bill that would have done away with the form. A City Hall spokesperson said the administration agreed to get rid of the policy because they thought letting the bill pass would have been too costly.

“This legislation would have likely resulted in extensive litigation at a cost to New York taxpayers, and ultimately would have caused delays in working with our partners across government to serve New Yorkers,” said Fabien Levy, deputy mayor for communications.

The end of the multipage online form follows widespread backlash since its introduction by Adams in April. More than 60 elected officials signed a letter urging the mayor to rescind the form. Some councilmembers clashed with a senior mayoral adviser over the issue at a contentious City Council hearing in May.

Some elected officials, encouraged by Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, refused to complete the form. But some administration staffers reportedly filled out the forms on lawmakers' behalf, according to a Gothamist analysis.

Brooklyn Councilmember Lincoln Restler, one of the form’s fiercest critics, last month introduced a bill with a veto-proof supermajority to block Adams' protocol entirely. Restler, who chairs the Council's committee on governmental operations, applauded the agreement on Monday.

“I’m pleased that this silly and reckless form is a thing of the past, so that all elected officials in New York can get back to working effectively with Parks, Sanitation, [the Department of Education] and other agencies to keep our city safe, healthy and clean,” he said in a statement.

Elected officials seeking direct meetings with Adams will still need to use the mayor’s meeting and event request form, according to his office. However, they can now contact City Hall’s intergovernmental affairs team in order to meet with agency heads.

Elizabeth Kim contributed reporting.