Day: December 15, 2024

Life inside Syrian detention: a Reuters journalist was held when reporting on anti-Assad protests in 2011. Hear his story on Reuters World News podcast https://t.co/hbqshGw92a pic.twitter.com/SM6EysUFD2

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 15, 2024

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, top advisor to embattled Mayor Eric Adams, abruptly resigned from City Hall on Sunday, the Mayor’s office confirmed to amNewYork Metro.

Lewis-Martin, the subject of a federal investigation, said she is retiring to focus more on her family and herself. Politico first reported the story.

“As you would say, this has been a good ride,” she said in a written statement. “I will use author’s license and say that this has been an amazing ride. Now, today, the time has come for me to focus on my wonderful family and myself and retire.”

Dec. 15 was Ingrid-Lewis’ last day on the job. Her announcement to retire comes as Adams faces acriminal trial in April 2025 for federal corruption charges that include bribery, conspiracy, soliciting foreign campaign donations and wire fraud, which were first announced in.

Adams was indicted on Sept. 26. He has remained steadfast in denying the charges.  

Lewis-Martin’s departure is not unexpected. According to Politico, she said during a radio show in September that she was thinking of retiring in January.

An American chaplain, Lewis-Martin served as Adams’ chief aide since he took office in 2022. Before that, she worked with Adams as his chief of staff in the NYS Senate and was his senior advisor during his two terms as Brooklyn borough president.

But her tenure is not without scandal. In September, she was served with a subpoena by federal authorities just as she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a trip to Japan.

Federal agents also raided Lewis-Martin’s Brooklyn home, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized her phone. According to reports at the time, she was not home when the raid occurred, but her family was.

“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “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. While she gets to spend a lot more time with her granddaughter, I know Ingrid will still stay involved in moving our city forward from the sidelines as she continues to root for our administration and our city.”

Lewis-Martin is the latest senior official in the Adams Administration to leave City Hall amid the ongoing criminal probe into the mayor.

According to Politico, Lewis-Martin has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and the scope of her investigations has not been made public. In her statement, she said she would continue to fight for NYC, but not through public office.

“I am a native New Yorker, and I love my city,” she said. “Know that I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for this great city every day as a private citizen.”