Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has announced the indictments of at least three people in Mayor Eric Adams’s inner circle. This comes as the latest in a series of allegations against numerous people in Adams administration over the past couple of years.
Among the seven people indicted by the DA’s office were former chief of staff and the mayor’s closest advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin; her son, Glenn D. Martin II; and former State Senator Jesse Hamilton, who was deputy commissioner of real estate services for the Department of Citywide Administrative Services.
“Ingrid is like a sister to me. I love Ingrid,” said Adams at a press conference on August 22. “She’s worked with me for over 40 years. I served as a police officer with her husband. I know her son, and I know her, and I know her heart. And she and her attorney will deal with the case that’s in front of her. My prayers are with Ingrid, and I wish her the best.”
Adams was not charged, and vowed not to interfere with the investigations into his former members of staff.
In September 2024, Lewis-Martin, Hamilton, and others took a personal trip together to Japan. She resigned from her role shortly after, in December 2024, but continued to volunteer for Adams’s mayoral reelection campaign.
Lewis-Martin was indicted for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes, including $50,000 in cash directed to her son’s account, between March 2022 and November 2024 while serving as chief advisor to the mayor, according to the DA’s office. The two allegedly conspired to steer city contracts for asylum seeker shelter sites for developer Tian Ji Li’s preferred property owners; fast-tracked permit approvals for a karaoke bar for Li in Queens; and conspired to have the transportation department withdraw its approval for protected bike lanes on McGuinness Boulevard in Brooklyn for money, catering, and a speaking role on TV shows like “Godfather of Harlem” and “Blue Bloods.”
“We allege that Ingrid Lewis-Martin engaged in classic bribery conspiracies that had a deep and wide-ranging impact on City government,” said Bragg in a statement. “As alleged, Lewis-Martin consistently overrode the expertise of public servants so she could line her own pockets.”
Hamilton, Lewis-Martin, and her son are accused of trying to fast-track development projects in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx on behalf of real estate developer Yechiel Landau in exchange for renovations on their homes, said the DA’s office.
Since the announcement of the indictment, Hamilton has resigned from his position with the city.
The new indictments came just after Winnie Greco, another former Adams adviser who had to resign from his administration but was still working on his campaign, got in trouble for handing a reporter a potato chip bag filled with cash at a campaign event.
“I am not going to interfere in any way with the process,” said Adams. “Our communications with the district attorney’s office indicated that in no way am I involved in any of the reviews that they’re conducting in this manner.”
Adams is no stranger to being investigated. His administration was under intense scrutiny from federal Manhattan prosecutors because of alleged fraud in his 2021 mayoral campaign back in 2023. There was a series of raids, subpoenas, resignations, and indictments that saw several of Adams’s top officials and agency heads abruptly resign from their positions. He faced his own indictment in September 2024 on a five-count felony charge.
After months of Adams’s increasing connection to President Donald Trump and signing off on the Republicans’ mass deportation agenda, a federal judge moved to dismiss Adams’s case in April.
“I’ve committed my life to this city, as a police officer, as a state senator, as a borough president, and now as your mayor,” Adams said. “We have not always gotten it right, but we have never stopped being dedicated to the people of this city. And I’m going to continue to do that as long as you allow me to do so.”
First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who was appointed in March of this year, did not comment about the specifics of any case at the press conference. He defended Adams, saying that the indictments are being used to “smear” him and his administration.
“I’ve stood by this mayor’s side for the past five months. We talk every day. We talk about how to resolve issues, how to address questions,” said Mastro. “There’s not a single time when he’s given me a direction that wasn’t in the best interests of the city. And the people who work in this building, who are so dedicated — I cannot tell you how proud I am to be their colleague.”
Adams is in the middle of running for reelection as an Independent in the upcoming general election this November. He is up against Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa.
“The people that you put your faith and your trust in [are] a reflection of your own leadership,” said Mamdani in his remarks. “That Adams continued to associate himself with Winnie Greco, with Ingrid, after so many clear examples of their corruption — it showcases what he is willing to sacrifice, and that is the public.”
His opponents all seized on the opportunity to criticize Adams and his campaign, calling his administration “corrupt.”
Adams pushed back hard against his mayoral competition in response: “I’m not going to leave this city to a beret-wearing, carnival display,” he said. “I’m not going to leave it to a person who put dangerous laws on the books that hurt us, from cannabis to bail reform to 15,000 nursing homes death. I’m not going to leave this city to someone that wants legalized prostitution on our streets. I’m not going to leave this city to someone that does not understand what it is to run a city [and who] went from being a rapper to an assemblyman and now wants to be the mayor of the most complex city. We’ve come too far to go backward. That is not going to happen.”
Before rushing to judgment, it’s important to separate individual misconduct from the broader performance of a mayor who has delivered real results for New Yorkers. Mayor Eric Adams has not been charged with any crime and has made clear that he will not interfere with any investigation. That’s the responsible course of action and the standard we should expect from our leaders.
The work of government continues. Under Mayor Adams, the city approved more than 28,000 new housing units in 2023, the highest total in over ten years. Public safety has improved as well, with shootings down more than 25 percent since 2021 and over 13,000 illegal guns removed from the streets. These are not vague promises; they are measurable outcomes that improve people’s lives.
Every administration faces challenges, and no mayor governs alone. The actions of a few individuals, if proven, should not obscure the progress being made or the seriousness with which Adams has approached his responsibilities. New Yorkers deserve a fair and complete picture, one that includes both accountability and the facts.
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When Adams made a deal with the devil drumpf he lost my vote. When he opened the city up to allow for all these undocumented and unfiltered people to live in these hotels here in Jamaica Queens that was also a big issue and still an issue for me and my community. The more “affluent” areas of the city is where he has narrowed his focus. He forgot about middle class Queens. We have several men’s women’s and homeless shelters in my area. Why weren’t they spread out into other areas like the richer parts of the city? The mandatory trash can flop, the scooter problem, homelessness getting worse, transit fares going up but little to no enforcement for fare jumpers,, unfair tax laws and how taxes are assessed, failure to address the mental health crisis, so many issues talked about but not resolved. So many issues swept under the rug. His selfishness is giving slimy Sliwa a path to winning.