It’s been a challenging week for New York Mayor Eric Adams, but he’s holding on to Gracie Mansion — at least for now. 

The federal judge overseeing Mr. Adams’ criminal case indefinitely delayed the mayor’s April trial in an order issued Friday. This is good news for the mayor, though Judge Dale Ho has yet to rule on whether he will sign off on a Trump Justice Department order to drop the charges against Mr. Adams “without prejudice,” meaning they can be brought back at any time.

In Friday’s order, Judge Ho appointed a conservative independent attorney, Paul Clement, to present arguments for the opposing side, since Mr. Adams and the Trump Justice Department are both arguing for a dismissal. The judge said the parties should submit briefs by March 7, and oral arguments may be held the following week.

This is the first action from Judge Ho since the hearing Wednesday, when acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, denied the existence of a quid pro quo between Mr. Adams and President Trump. Mr. Bove said the charges against Mr. Adams and his loss of a security clearance were making it difficult for the mayor to work with the Trump administration on deportations.

“The Court reiterates that it understands the importance of prompt resolution of the pending motion and will endeavor to rule expeditiously after briefing (and, if necessary, oral argument) is complete. The adjournment of trial and related deadlines alleviates any prejudice resulting from a short delay,” Judge Ho wrote.

Mr. Adams denies the charges against him. His trial was set to start in April, just two months before the June mayoral primary. All recent polls show Mr. Adams losing that race to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has yet to announce that he’s running.

Mr. Cuomo will likely be a Democratic challenger of Mr. Adams in the upcoming mayoral primary, but he may have also just saved his skin. Governor Hochul announced Thursday afternoon that she will not use her constitutional authority as governor to remove the mayor from office. She did, though, announce legislative “guardrails” to curb his mayoral authority.

These “guardrails” include creating a new Special Inspector General for New York City and giving authority to the city’s public advocate, comptroller, and City Council speaker — all positions currently held by anti-Trump Democratic allies — to commence litigation against the federal government. Both actions require legislative approval, and critics say they’re more bark than bite.

“I was hoping for something stronger,” a Democratic strategist, Michael Hardaway, tells The New York Sun. “I don’t know how creating this kind of commission would be effective, given that the guy is on his way out anyway,” he says of Mr. Adams.

“It’s all about stopping Andrew Cuomo,” a Democratic strategist, Hank Sheinkopf, tells the Sun.

Undercutting this New York drama is the power dynamics and political feuds between the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, Ms. Hochul, and Mr. Cuomo. Ms. James filed the 168-page report detailing multiple sexual allegations against Mr. Cuomo that forced him to resign in 2021 from the governorship. He denies the allegations and the suits against him were later dropped.

Mr. Sheinkopf isn’t the only one to say that preventing a Mayor Cuomo is at least partially why Ms. Hochul refused to remove Mr. Adams from office. Doing so would have made it easier for Mr. Cuomo to enter the mayoral race and win over Mr. Adams’ constituency of moderates and black voters. Black voters make up nearly a third of the Democratic primary electorate.

“Zero,” Ms. Hochul said when asked Thursday how much Mr. Cuomo’s potential mayoral bid impacted her decision on Mr. Adams. When asked whether she would extend the legislative “guardrails” to mayoral power past the end of the year if Mr. Cuomo won the election, Ms. Hoch equivocated.

“I will look at the facts at the end of the year and determine what’s best for the city,” she said. “These are put in place as an extraordinary measure at this time. I understand that.”

A person close to Mr. Cuomo shrugged when the Sun asked about Ms. Hochul’s comment but would say more. Mr. Cuomo’s team seems to be operating on the principle of silence while the drama unfolds between Mr. Adams, Ms. Hochul, and the field of announced mayoral contenders. 

Mr. Cuomo is specifically reaching out to black voters as he prepares for a run. He’s spoken at Sunday black church services for months and recently scored the endorsement of elder black statesman, Carl McCall, a former New York State comptroller.

Some media outlets have reported that Ms. James is recruiting City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to run for mayor. A black, 64-year-old council member from Queens, Ms. Adams has supported letting noncitizen green card holders vote and pushed far-left criminal justice reform measures. Two sources told the Sun Ms. James is making calls to coalesce support behind Ms. Adams, even suggesting that some of the progressive candidates would drop out and endorse her.

“That rumor is unequivocally false,” a spokesperson for Democratic mayoral candidate, Jessica Ramos, told the Sun by email.

Ms. James also denies this. “Adams is considering running for the Office of the Mayor of the City of New York, and Tish James is focused on her work as the Attorney General of State of New York. Next question,” Ms. James told the Sun.

“There’s been no speaker that’s been mayor, and it’s not likely to happen because history is against her,” Mr. Sheinkopf says. “But what it does do is ensure that she can grab enough of the black vote to make sure Andrew Cuomo is not mayor.”

“Adrienne Adams may think that she’s really running for mayor. She’s not really running for mayor. They don’t care who’s mayor so long as it’s not Andrew Cuomo,” Mr. Sheinkopf says.

When asked whether she is worried about a Cuomo political comeback and possible retribution, Ms. James said, “I’m a person of faith, and faith and fear cannot share the same space. Next question.”