NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Ingrid Lewis-Martin, longtime aide and chief adviser of Mayor Eric Adams, stepped down from her post on Sunday—a resignation that came amid a report a Manhattan prosecutors could seek an indictment against her as soon as this week.
Lewis-Martin, 63, said in a statement that she was retiring to focus on herself and her family. She reflected on the highs of her over 30-year career in public service, calling the decision to retire “a bittersweet moment for [her] as government has been [her] life’s work.”
Her announcement is sudden, and Lewis-Martin's resignation is effective immediately. She has served in the role of chief adviser since Adams became mayor in 2022, a position that had her overseeing appointments, human resources and a long list of projects in collaboration with deputy mayors. City Hall described Lewis-Martin as “a crisis manager who gets things done.”
The New York Times reported Sunday that the Manhattan District Attorney's Office had presented evidence to a grand jury as it investigates corruption allegations against Lewis-Martin—potential charges that reportedly appear unrelated to the charges against Adams.
The resignation comes months before Adams is set to stand trial on public corruption charges brought by the federal government, and months after Lewis-Martin herself was subpoenaed in a federal investigation.
On Sept. 27—two days after Adams was indicted and the same day he pleaded not guilty to all corruption charges—Lewis-Martin was met by federal investigators at John F. Kennedy International Airport upon return to New York City from Japan, while others searched her Brooklyn home.
“Ingrid Lewis Martin has been served with a subpoena from the Southern District of New York and her phones were given to the New York County District Attorney’s Office,” Arthur Aidala, the attorney for Lewis-Martin, told 1010 WINS at the time. “She will cooperate fully with any and all investigations and Ms. Lewis is not the target of any case of which we are aware.”
Lewis-Martin has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing.
In her statement on Sunday, Lewis-Martin thanked Adams for their decades-long professional relationship, referring back to him “seeking [her] out way back in 2004” to help run his Senate campaign.
“To my political partner, brother, and friend, Mayor Eric Adams … I extend humble gratitude to you for encouraging me to be my authentic self and for having my back during some trying times,” she wrote. “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.”
Despite Lewis-Martin’s resignation coming at a time of political upheaval for City Hall, she had already been planning to retire before charges were brought against Adams, according to Politico, which first reported the resignation.
In a statement, Adams thanked Lewis-Martin for her years of sound counsel, referring to her as “not [just] a friend, a confidant, and trusted [adviser], but also a sister.”
“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,” Adams said. “I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city.”