Adams Nominates Mastro, Setting Up a Showdown With the Council

Mayor Eric Adams formally nominated Randy Mastro to be New York City’s top lawyer on Tuesday, casting aside significant opposition from the City Council and setting up a dramatic clash over the appointment.

Mr. Mastro, a former aide to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani who is known for his aggressive tactics while defending numerous high-profile interests, has received support from Mr. Adams and his allies as the best choice for the job.

But Mr. Mastro must be confirmed by a majority of the 51-member Council, and many members oppose his nomination, including the Council’s Black, Latino and Asian Caucus. The group has said that the city deserves “better than someone who has fought for the interests of top earners, abusive corporations and vindictive politicians.”

Mr. Adams said in a statement on Tuesday that he was “excited” to nominate Mr. Mastro, calling him a “world-renowned attorney who brings decades of experience as a public servant, federal prosecutor and pre-eminent trial lawyer.”

For months, Mr. Adams and his aides have been privately lobbying council members, hoping to persuade enough of them to support Mr. Mastro, a former federal prosecutor who has represented former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey in the investigation of the George Washington Bridge lane closings; the State of New Jersey in a lawsuit against the federal government over congestion pricing; and the energy company Chevron over pollution in the Ecuadorean rain forest.

The mayor believes that Mr. Mastro is best suited to help defend him and the city in various legal matters. Mr. Adams and his top aides are facing a tangle of investigations and lawsuits, including one accusing the mayor of sexually assaulting a colleague in 1993 when he was a police officer.