Mayor Eric Adams’ administration will stop asking elected officials to fill out a form in order to meet with or request action from city agency leaders. The retreat comes in response to months of loud criticism from lawmakers, and the impending passage of a City Council bill that would have nullified the policy.

The administration said Monday it had reached a deal with the council to eliminate the form in exchange for lawmakers dropping their bill. Council members will still need to complete a form to meet directly with Mayor Adams but will no longer need to do so to speak to agencies, mayoral spokesman Fabien Levy said in a statement.

The deal averted a likely lawsuit between the council and administration over the form-killing legislation, which was expected to pass on Wednesday. But the mayor has been willing to battle the City Council on other issues, and his capitulation may point to his weakened political standing in the wake of his indictment.

Lawmakers lambasted the so-called Elected Officials Agency Engagement Request portal when it was created in April, saying it upended the decades-old practice of lawmakers directly contacting agency officials to request a meeting or seek help for a constituent issue. Some lawmakers have simply ignored the form in the ensuing months and reached out to agency officials directly, as they previously had.

Critics saw the form as gatekeeping by a micromanaging mayor, even as administration officials insisted it was intended only to streamline services, centralize requests and level the playing field to ensure that newly elected officials are not disadvantaged compared to government veterans with more extensive contacts.

Lincoln Restler, a Brooklyn councilman who sponsored the bill that would have negated the form, said in a statement, “I’m pleased that this silly and reckless form is a thing of the past, so that all elected officials in New York can get back to working effectively with Parks, Sanitation, DOE and other agencies to keep our city safe, healthy and clean.”

At a tense City Council hearing in May, Restler said he had spoken to more than a dozen Adams administration officials who admitted to being “embarrassed” by the policy. Restler said the form impaired lawmakers’ ability to get help on issues like illegal dumping or cannabis stores near schools, while mayoral adviser Tiffany Raspberry countered that the administration had successfully fielded dozens of requests through the system.

“While agency requests will no longer require a form, our intergovernmental affairs team here at City Hall will work to ensure elected officials have equitable and timely access to our agencies,” said Levy, the City Hall spokesman. “Our administration remains committed to transparency and continuing to make it easier for all elected officials to communicate with our agencies and officials, and through this agreement, we are striking that balance.”