Corruption around the Adams administration is the gift that keeps on giving — and two little tasty morsels were delivered yesterday.
The first: The Times reported that new charges will be unsealed against Mayor Adams's former counsel Ingrid Lewis-Martin. Unlike the last time — when Lewis-Martin allegedly sought big money from real estate titans so she could buy her son a Porsche — this time it appears that the corruption involves Lewis-Martin's involvement (and alleged payoff for same) in the Adams administration's decision to scale back the road safety project on McGuinness Boulevard at the behest of campaign donors Gina and Tony Argento of the theatrical production company, Broadway Stages.
Now, Streetsblog has long been covering the link between Lewis-Martin and the Argentos' effort to block the safety project, but the Times really connected the dots. Citing an indictment that could be handed down as early as today, the Times reported,
The Argentos began to push back [on the McGuinness safety project], helping mount an expansive campaign called Keep McGuinness Moving to stop the city’s plan, which the group said would "create traffic," "endanger public safety by delaying emergency vehicles, and destroy the local economy, businesses and employees."
City Hall, and Ms. Lewis-Martin in particular, appeared to pay heed, with Ms. Lewis-Martin repeatedly voicing opposition to the proposal, according to city officials. Just two months after announcing the road safety plan, the administration abruptly changed course.
The revelation that the Argentos would be charged clearly connects one missing link: Before Lewis-Martin was indicted on the Porsche charges back late last year, her phone, as well as Gina Argento's phone, had been seized by the Manhattan District Attorney's office. If the Times report is correct (and it's propped up by multiple sources), investigators clearly found something they liked, namely that the Argentos and Ingrid Lewis-Martin improperly conspired to block the bike lane project. (amNY, the Daily News, the Post also covered.)
Reaction to the news was swift:
- Ben Furnas, executive director of Transportation Alternatives: “Decisions about street design must be based on data — not on special interests and tens of thousands of dollars worth of campaign contributions. ... It’s deeply disturbing that McGuinness remained dangerous for so long. If these allegations are true, the Adams administration takes bribes; New Yorkers die.
- Bronwyn Breitner, Parent Leader for Make McGuinness Safe: “Thanks to Eric Adams, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, and the Argento family’s interference in the city’s redesign of McGuinness Boulevard, half of the roadway remains dangerous and confusing today. We demand that Mayor Adams immediately direct the Department of Transportation to complete the full road diet — a plan that should have been protecting our community for the past two years. The grassroots campaign to Make McGuinness Safe was born from grief, led by families determined to protect their children. Those same children have now seen firsthand how power and money can corrupt the public good."
- Lisa Orman, co-executive director, Open Plans: "Regardless of whether or not Ms. Lewis-Martin is guilty of any wrongdoing, why would Eric Adams take any street or transportation counsel from a person who brags that she hasn’t taken the subway in forty years? She drives everywhere. We are far past the time where any of these life and limb-saving street improvements should be debated. Hopefully, our next Mayor agrees.”
- Eric McClure, executive director, StreetsPAC: "These serious charges, if substantiated, show an administration that willingly put personal financial gain and political interests before the safety of New Yorkers, and a business willing to sacrifice the safety of its neighbors for whatever it thought it was preventing in paying for influence over what should have been a project governed by design and engineering best practices. It’s frankly shameful, and New Yorkers should be rightfully outraged."
The latest charges render City Hall's previous denials absurd. In June, 2023, a City Hall spokesperson told us, "All decisions are based on the merits of any issue and has nothing to do with campaign contributions," which, if the Times report is accurate, is just not true. In a statement issued to Streetsblog on Wednesday, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Altus didn't answer our specific question about the quid-pro-quo, saying, "Mayor Adams was not involved in this matter and has not been accused of or implicated in any wrongdoing. ... Ingrid Lewis-Martin no longer works for this administration.”
We'll have more on the new charges as the indictment is made public, hopefully today. Before then, you should probably remind yourself of this whole sordid saga, by reading Kevin Duggan's definitive take the last time Lewis-Martin faced charges.
Oh, and that second great gift that landed in our inboxes yesterday? Adams campaign fundraiser Winnie Greco tried to bribe Katie Honan, the unflappable reporter from The City, by stuffing a red envelope full of money into a bag of Herr's sour cream and onion potato chips.
We would make fun of the inside, but The City's coverage, plus coverage in the Post and the Times, and the hilarity that ensued on Bluesky, speaks for itself. But here's a taste:
What is the charge? Eating a chip? A succulent Herr’s chip?
— Award-Winning Reporter Dave Colon (@davecolon.bsky.social) 2025-08-21T01:50:43.432Z
In other news:
- Momentum really got spun on New York's greatness as a biking city, huh?
- What else is new? The Post opposes the fare hike, times two.
- And the Paper of Wreckage continues to fan eminent domain fires regarding tenants and businesses that will be closed due to the construction of the Second Avenue Subway — which has been long planned.
- And, finally, hat tip to David Byrne for not taking the "delivery workers are evil" bait on Subway Takes. He placed the blame where it belongs: on the companies that exploit workers:
