One of Mayor Eric Adams’s closest advisers has resigned from New York City government, the latest departure of a top official as the mayor and his inner circle face a series of investigations.
The adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, 63, was once viewed as the second most powerful person at City Hall. For nearly two decades, she has been part of Mr. Adams’s inner circle as he rose through New York City politics.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr. Adams said Ms. Lewis-Martin “has not been just a friend, a confidante and trusted adviser, but also a sister.”
He continued: “We’ve always talked about when this day would come, and while we’ve long planned for it, it is still hard to know that Ingrid won’t be right next door every day. I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city.”
Ms. Lewis-Martin’s phone was seized in September as part of an investigation by the Manhattan district attorney’s office involving the city’s leasing of commercial properties.
Mr. Adams, a Democrat who was indicted in September on federal corruption charges, is expected to go on trial in April. Many of his closest advisers resigned after the indictment, including Philip B. Banks III and Timothy Pearson.
In a statement that did not mention the investigations, Ms. Lewis-Martin said she was retiring to spend more time with her family, and called the mayor her “political partner, brother and friend.”
Addressing the mayor, she said: “I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times. As you would say, this has been a good ride; I will use author’s license and say that this has been an amazing ride.”
Ms. Lewis-Martin’s last day was Sunday, the mayor’s office said. Her departure was first reported by Politico.
She was known as a fiercely loyal lieutenant, negotiating political deals and fending off threats from opponents.
She has at times alienated staff members and pushed the limits of ethics rules. In the days after Mr. Adams was elected, several of his supporters urged him not to bring Ms. Lewis-Martin to City Hall.
But Mr. Adams hired her as his chief adviser in January 2022, and Ms. Lewis-Martin has been involved in some of his most scrutinized moves, including dismissing the separation of church and state and criticizing President Biden over an influx of migrants to the city.
Still, Mr. Adams has kept her close. When texts surfaced in June showing that Mr. Adams said in 2018 that Ms. Lewis-Martin had “anger management issues” and needed to “grow up,” the mayor was conciliatory.
“Ingrid and I have been together for over 30 years,” he said at a news conference. “We’re siblings, and no article is going to rip us apart. People have tried that for years. We stood side by side throughout this entire journey, and we’re going to continue to do so.”
Ms. Lewis-Martin was paid more than $80,000 by Mr. Adams’s mayoral campaign in 2021. She is particularly close with Brianna Suggs, the mayor’s former chief fund-raiser, and Winnie Greco, his former director of Asian affairs — both of whom had their homes raided by the F.B.I. as part of separate federal investigations.
Ms. Lewis-Martin and Mr. Adams met in 1984, they have said, through her husband, Glenn Martin, who was a friend of Mr. Adams’s at the police academy. When Mr. Adams decided to run for the State Senate in 2006, he asked her to serve as campaign manager. She has been a top aide ever since.
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