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Mayor Adams vowed to ‘get stuff done.’ Prosecutors say his team did just that – for a fee.
By
David Brand
Published Dec 20, 2024
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Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By
David Brand
Published Dec 20, 2024
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Mayor Eric Adams took office pledging to cut red tape and speed up construction and development.
After three years in office, prosecutors overseeing three separate indictments say his administration has been doing just that — for a price.
Adams’ longtime top aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin is the latest member of the administration to face accusations of greasing the wheels of city government in exchange for cash or gifts. Adams faces similar allegations involving bribes from the Turkish government. The mayor’s first buildings commissioner is also accused of accepting bribes in exchange for expediting inspections. Taken together, the indictments allege that corruption is alive and well in New York City real estate – and touching the highest levels of local government.
On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleged Lewis-Martin urged then-acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik to approve plans for a rooftop bar near Herald Square on Dec. 8, 2022. Two days later, prosecutors say, she told Vilenchik to “assist” with a separate construction project, this time at a hotel on Rivington Street, that had been halted by the buildings department.
Lewis-Martin and her son received more than $100,000 for the assistance from real estate investors involved in both projects, prosecutors said. Lewis-Martin, her son and the investors all pleaded not guilty.
“I’ve worked in government for over 35 years,” Lewis-Martin said. “I have never taken any gifts, money, anything.”
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, her attorney Arthur Aidala said she was merely following through on Adams’ campaign pledge to be a friend to the business community.
“She helped a constituent. She helped a citizen navigate the thick red tape of city government,” Aidala said. “What she was doing here was just moving things along.”
But John Kaehny, executive director of the good government group Reinvent Albany, called the allegations “stunning” and part of a pattern.
“That fact that she was allegedly not afraid to order the DOB commissioner to do things on multiple occasions is not a good sign because it speaks to a culture of corruption,” Kaehny said.
The charges come two years after a task force convened by Adams issued 111 recommendations to “cut red tape, streamline processes, and remove administrative burdens.” Bribing city officials was not among them.
“The more difficult and time-consuming it is to get permits to do lawful things — such as constructing a building — the more likely it is that someone will be eager to break the rules to find a shortcut,” said Citizens Housing and Planning Council Executive Director Howard Slatkin, a former city planning administrator.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin is led to her Manhattan arraignment in handcuffs.
Brittany Kriegstein/Gothamist
Adams himself is accused of pressuring the former fire commissioner, Daniel Nigro, to get inspectors to approve the fire safety system at a Turkish consulate building despite their concerns so it could open in time for a visit from that country’s president, Recep Erdogan. Federal prosecutors say Adams made the move after receiving luxury travel perks from Turkish officials and businesspeople tied to the Turkish government.
In the same indictment, prosecutors said the buildings department lifted a partial stop-work order at a stalled condo complex in Brooklyn days after the project developer reached out to Adams and asked for help. Prosecutors say the developer funneled $10,000 in illegal contributions to Adams’ mayoral campaign.
Adams has pleaded not guilty and accused the Department of Justice of political retribution for his criticism of President Joe Biden.
But evidence has emerged that the Adams administration codified a policy of streamlining inspections and approvals for favored donors and megadevelopers. Emails obtained by Gothamist last year reveal how City Hall instructed inspectors to usher select projects to the front of the months-long line for fire safety inspections — at times cancelling scheduled inspections of schools and small apartment buildings.
Prosecutors say two fire chiefs then used that list to mask their own illegal side hustle. One pleaded guilty to slipping projects onto the list after receiving bribes from expeditors hired by the building owners.
The buildings commissioner also allegedly got his cut.
In 2023, Bragg charged former Buildings Commissioner Eric Ulrich with receiving $150,000 in gifts from business people and associates in exchange for favors, like expediting inspections, helping lift a vacate order and attempting to clear a homeless shelter.
Ulrich has denied the allegations, which are unrelated to the Lewis-Martin indictment. He declined to comment. City Hall did not respond to an inquiry.
Lewis-Martin stepped down from city government this past weekend. Prosecutors say she hinted at the decision in a June phone call with a real estate agent working with her son and one of the investors charged with giving her bribes.
“I’m not playing. Your sister has to be rich! I’m gonna retire,” Lewis-Martin said, according to court papers.
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David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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