Exclude Phil Banks from the equation

Buzzards are circling NYPD boss Edward Caban, yet before Mayor Adams can even start thinking about replacing him, Phil Banks needs to be taken out of the equation.

As deputy mayor for public safety, Banks has essentially run the force, turning the commissioner job into a figurehead role and making it far less attractive to top-tier applicants.

If Caban is to be replaced, that situation must be resolved first.

At the very least, Banks should play no role in tapping Caban’s successor — as he did in choosing Caban in the first place.

Truth is, it’s hard to make a case for keeping Banks on at all: Caban needs to step down because of the feds’ corruption probe involving his twin brother James and perhaps him.

Yet the feds are also looking into whether Banks steered contracts to his brother Terence’s clients.

And remember, Phil Banks was an unindicted co-conspirator in another corruption scandal a decade ago, caught taking gifts from influence-peddlers who were ultimately convicted of bribery.

On top of that, the city has made only minor progress against crime with Banks overseeing the NYPD: Adams ran for mayor vowing to lower COVID-era crime rates, yet last year saw 23% more murders than the year before the pandemic (2019) — and 33% more felonies overall.

Banks doesn’t deserve all the blame: The rash of state and criminal-justice “reforms,” which handcuff cops and ensure perps go free, have certainly driven up crime rates.

As has Hizzoner’s failure to bulk up the rank-and-file headcount, now shrinking to levels not seen in decades.