NEW YORK — New York City Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan submitted his resignation, the third time in recent weeks that an Adams administration official announced their departure.
Vasan is resigning for personal and family reasons, which are unrelated to ongoing investigations that have engulfed Mayor Eric Adams and top officials in his administration.
The latest Adams administration resignation
Vasan is the latest top official in Mayor Adams’ administration to resign. He is expected to remain in his post until early January.
In a statement on Vasan’s resignation, Adams said:
I want to thank Dr. Vasan for his service to New York City since the start of our administration. His expertise as a mental health expert, coupled with his training as a public health professional, have proven indispensable to our city over the past two-and-a-half years as we’ve handled rising COVID rates, Mpox outbreaks, and a mental health crisis both on our streets and in our schools.
But despite all of these events, Dr. Vasan has helped implement new programs that will have a generational impact on New Yorkers — creating programs that will absolve working-class New Yorkers of their medical debt, tackle the teen mental health crisis head on, and aim to increase life expectancy for all New Yorkers. I appreciate Dr. Vasan’s decision to stay on through early next year as we transition to a new commissioner, and we are confident that because of his hard work putting into place critical public health initiatives New York City is and will continue to be a safer and healthier place for a long time to come. I hope all New Yorkers join me in thanking Dr. Vasan and his entire family for their service.
The mayor’s chief counsel Lisa Zornberg suddenly quit last week, claiming she was unable to do her job effectively amid the federal probe.
Days earlier, police commissioner Edward Caban resigned after federal agents raided his home. Caban said the investigation had become a distraction to running the NYPD, the nation’s largest police force.
Laura Kavanagh, the first woman appointed FDNY commissioner, said in July she was planning to step down.
Former police commissioner Keechant Sewell took a job with the New York Mets after abruptly leaving the department last year.
FBI raids interim NYPD commissioner
Adams is still looking for a full-time police commissioner after naming Tom Donlon the interim head of the NYPD, according to sources.
Federal agents raided Donlon’s home days after he was appointed to succeed Caban. They were reportedly searching for documents that were in Donlon’s possession for over 20 years.
Donlon alleged the agents “took materials that came into my possession approximately 20 years ago and are unrelated to my work with the New York City Police Department.”
The mayor is taking his time to select a permanent NYPD commissioner and, with public safety a top concern, wants to ensure he has a rapport with the person running the police department, CBS News New York’s Marcia Kramer reported.
Donlon is in the running, sources say.
