New York City's law department, under Corporation Counsel Steve Banks, formally asked a Manhattan judge to withdraw representation of former Mayor Eric Adams in a sexual assault lawsuit filed in 2024. Banks stated his review of new evidence since the initial decision to represent Adams determined the former mayor was not acting within his city employment scope when the alleged assault occurred. The lawsuit was brought by Lorna Beach-Mathura, a former NYPD transit bureau employee, who accused Adams of assaulting her in 1993 after she sought career advice. Beach-Mathura's lawsuit alleges Adams drove her to a vacant lot, sought oral sex, and then masturbated onto her after she refused.

This move by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, just two and a half months into his tenure, signals a clear shift away from defending his predecessor's legal entanglements. It follows similar actions regarding Adams' allies, including Timothy Pearson and Jeffrey Maddrey, indicating a systematic effort to distance the current administration from the previous one's legal controversies.