What started as a corruption case about favors for builders is veering into darker territory for Ingrid Lewis-Martin, as soon as Mayor Eric Adams’ closest political ally.
Courtroom filings from Manhattan District Legal professional Alvin Bragg allege Lewis-Martin accepted diamond earrings and different perks from builders whereas pressuring the Division of Buildings to push by resort and nightlife tasks, The Metropolis reported, whilst senior DOB officers warned of unresolved questions of safety.
The filings recommend her interventions might have overridden issues about hearth egress and occupancy at a Decrease East Facet resort and a rooftop bar mission.
The paperwork had been filed Tuesday as prosecutors responded to motions by Lewis-Martin’s attorneys looking for to dismiss the case. They add recent allegations to 2 present indictments that accuse Lewis-Martin of bribery and cash laundering, alleging she abused her place because the mayor’s chief advisor to make regulatory issues disappear for politically linked builders.
Among the many newest claims, prosecutors say Lewis-Martin accepted a pair of two-carat diamond earrings value about $3,000 from developers Raizada “Pinky” Vaid and Mayank Dwivedi at first of the Adams administration. In return, she allegedly leaned on metropolis companies to fast-track approvals for tasks together with the Resort Rivington and a rooftop bar referred to as the Glass Ceiling.
Doubtlessly extra explosive for Metropolis Corridor and the true property trade is the allegation that DOB officers internally raised purple flags about security. A high buildings official warned that the resort renovation Lewis-Martin was pushing ahead lacked vital details about occupancy load and whether or not the constructing had ample hearth egress, in accordance with the filings.
Regardless of these issues, Lewis-Martin repeatedly pressed then-acting DOB Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik to maneuver the mission alongside.
Emails cited by prosecutors present DOB employees expressing unease that Lewis-Martin was making an attempt to “circumvent the method.” In a single occasion, after Lewis-Martin texted {that a} mission wanted to be moved ahead, a brand new plan examiner was assigned inside an hour. Permits quickly adopted.
Lewis-Martin resigned in December 2024, days earlier than her first indictment was unsealed.
Prosecutors accused her of steering $100,000 from the identical builders right into a joint account she shared together with her son, funds later used to purchase a Porsche. Different alleged advantages embrace money, free catering at Gracie Mansion occasions and a talking position on the TV collection “Godfather of Harlem,” tied to a separate scheme involving strain on DOT over a contested bike lane.
Her legal professional, Arthur Aidala, dismissed Bragg’s newest submitting as overreach, calling it a “determined” response.
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