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Ingrid Lewis-Martin, chief adviser and close confidante to Mayor Eric Adams, stepped down from her post on Sunday.
Lewis-Martin told NY1 she retired. Her departure takes effect immediately.
“I am a native New Yorker, and I love my city. Know that I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for this great city every day as a private citizen,” she said in part in a statement. “Now, today, the time has come for me to focus on my wonderful family and myself and retire.”
Lewis-Martin also thanked the mayor personally.
“To my political partner, brother, and friend, Mayor Eric Adams: I thank you for seeking me out, way back in 2004, and asking me to run your Senate campaign,” she said. “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.“
In September, a source told NY1 Lewis-Martin was one of five people who had their phones seized by the Manhattan district attorney’s office as part of an investigation into the Adams administration.
NY1 was at the scene as law enforcement officials took materials from Lewis-Martin’s home in Brooklyn.
In a statement provided to NY1 at the time, Lewis-Martin’s attorney said she had “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,” but added that she was “not the target of any case of which we are aware.”
She has not been charged or accused of any wrongdoing.
Lewis-Martin has been a right-hand woman to the mayor for many decades, and her retirement comes as he faces a five-count indictment on federal corruption charges while running for reelection.
Adams issued a statement of his own on Lewis-Martin’s departure.
“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, 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,” he said.
“I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city,” he added. “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.”
