Adams aide Lewis-Martin took diamond earrings as bribe

Former advisor to the NYC Mayor Eric Adams Ingrid Lewis-Martin arrives at Manhattan criminal court on Thursday, Aug. 21, 2025, in New York. AP Photo/Olga Fedorova

MANHATTAN – NEW FILINGS IN the bribery trial of former Mayor Eric Adams’ right-hand woman Ingrid Lewis-Martin allege that she accepted gifts, including a pair of diamond earrings worth $3,000, from a pair of real-estate developers who she later allegedly helped receive permission for potentially unsafe building projects, reports The City.

The filings, submitted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Tuesday, detail Lewis-Martin’s relationship with the developers of a Manhattan hotel project that featured a rooftop bar. Inspectors at the Department of Buildings had flagged both the bar and the hotel project over safety concerns, including missing fire egress and occupancy information. Lewis-Martin then allegedly leaned on the then-acting commissioner of the DOB to intervene in the project, granting permission over the objections of inspectors and the Manhattan Borough Commissioner.

Lewis-Martin’s attorney, Arthur Aidala, in a statement dismissed the allegations, writing, “We look forward to submitting our robust reply to the prosecutor’s desperate 170 page answer to our motion to dismiss. It is the longest answer to a motion we have ever seen and that speaks volumes about their insecurity in their case.”

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