The soon-to-be New York City schools Chancellor has remained steadfast in her support of Mayor Eric Adams after he was slapped with a 5-count indictment on Thursday.
Melissa Aviles-Ramos is expected to take the helm of the largest school system in the country from David Banks at the end of the calendar year.
Banks, a stalwart in the education department, abruptly resigned this week amid a widening federal probe into the Adams administration — but emphasized that the move had been in the works for months.
The schools Chancellor, who himself was ensnared by the stunning round of Sept. 4 federal raids earlier this month, has not broken his silence since the release of the 57-page bombshell indictment against Adams.
His successor, however, told Chalkbeat that she has not lost support in Adams and that she shares his and Banks’ vision for Big Apple schools.
“That’s why I agreed to be chancellor,” she told the publication.
“My North Star is their North Star, but I have to make sure that I keep the train moving.”
While Adams dominated the news cycle on Thursday, Aviles-Ramos said she would be sticking to the task in front of her.
“Which is making sure that our kids and our families have everything they need,” she added.
In her first interview since accepting the role she also gave clarity on who would be leading the decision making for New York City schools over the next three months.
“That will be [Banks] and me together. We’ve worked really closely together in the last couple of years. And one thing about the chancellor is that he makes decisions with his cabinet,” she said.
“So this isn’t new to them. It’s certainly not new to me, and I’m actually looking forward to the next three months.”
Adams is alleged to have secretly solicited and accepted freebies and illegal campaign donations from wealthy foreigners, including Turkish officials, as far back as 2014.
Mere hours after the indictment was unsealed, Adams reassured staff in a letter that “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
Hizzoner also reminded staff that New York is “in a much better place today than we were 2.5 years ago” when former Mayor Bill de Blasio — who today defended the Mayor’s right to justice — was at the helm.
It’s unclear how long Aviles-Ramos will take charge of NYCPS if Adams was to resign — triggering Public Advocate Jumaane Williams to take over.
But till then, the new chancellor said she’s “confident” in the current administration.
