Eric Adams to cut municipal office space, signaling plans for smaller workforce

NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams is shrinking the city’s office footprint to account for a smaller municipal workforce — a controversial “mayoral priority” that’s quietly underway, according to a review of internal communications and budget documents.

The Department of Citywide Administrative Services recently directed some agencies to identify underutilized office space they can give up in the cost-saving measure, according to four people familiar with the plan. The move is politically risky since the city’s largely unionized municipal workforce of over 300,000 is a core part of the mayor’s base. Adams, a Democrat and former NYPD captain, often touts his union credentials.

In memos to agency heads Jesse Hamilton — a longtime Adams ally who is spearheading the project — referred to the “Citywide Space Savings Task Force” as a “mayoral priority.” Hamilton, a former Brooklyn politician, runs the agency’s real estate division .

“We at DCAS are constantly evaluating our use of space in order to maximize effectiveness and cost-savings,” agency spokesperson Dan Kastanis said. The department is in the early stages of the plan and is compiling data from city agencies, he added. Kastanis declined to answer a series of detailed questions about the particulars of the plan.

The initiative reflects a city workforce that is not growing at pre-pandemic expectations, according to budget documents. It is also a tacit acknowledgment from the Adams administration that it is unlikely to fill all its vacant positions.

It drew backlash from the City Council, which has an increasingly combative relationship with the mayor.

“City agencies must have the support needed to fill vacancies and deliver essential services to New Yorkers,” council spokesperson Julia Agos said in a statement. “The purported plan to reduce office space is troubling and raises serious concerns about its impact on this priority. It's disappointing that we were once again not directly informed of a significant policy change, and had to learn about it from the press.”

Office consolidation is expected to save the city at least $44 million across eight agencies through fiscal year 2028, according to a review of cost-saving initiatives in the budget plan. Since that document was released in April, more agencies have been asked to evaluate space.

Agencies that are anticipating savings from reduced office space include the social services, fire and law departments, per budget documents reviewed by POLITICO.

The documents show a roughly 10,000-person drop in projected municipal headcount since the year before COVID disrupted work patterns. Adams came into office demanding private and public employees return to in-person work , but made some concessions for partial remote employment in a deal with labor leaders.

The Adams administration is forecasting a city workforce of 323,105 full-time employees by 2028, down from 326,848 as of June 2024. By comparison, the budgeted headcount under former Mayor Bill de Blasio reached 332,315 people in June 2019, and his administration projected it would grow to 337,764 people over the subsequent five years.

The planned reduction in space has prompted concern that fewer city offices could make it harder for New Yorkers to access services and public assistance like cash benefits.

“I don’t want to see a consolidation plan that puts people further and further away from resources that we fought so hard to bring to the communities,” Council Member Diana Ayala said in an interview.

As the city plans to shrink its portfolio of office space, Adams is also asking agencies to identify city-owned properties like underused parking lots or garages that could be turned into housing.

Joe Anuta contributed to this report.