Adams’ ex-aide Ingrid Lewis-Martin hosts NYC toy drive, sings Beyoncé’s ‘Cuff It’ — day after she was hit with bribery charges
Now she’s in the spirit of giving.
Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Mayor Eric Adams’ former chief advisor, hosted her annual toy drive in Brooklyn Friday night and belted out the lyrics to Beyoncé’s “Cuff It” during karaoke — one day after she was indicted for allegedly doling out favors to two New York City hoteliers in exchange for bribes.
The longtime Adams confidant – his No. 2 at City Hall until her sudden resignation on Sunday – was in a festive mood while wearing a white turtleneck with a gold party favor necklace and black pants as she collected hundreds of toys and celebrated the season of giving with more than 100 attendees at the Paerdegat Yacht Club.
Toys, including Nerf Guns, plush snowman, basketballs, and dozens of board games were piled high near the center of the banquet room, with Black Santa Claus figurines and mini Christmas trees lining the red-clothed tables.
Lewis-Martin took center stage during karaoke, singing and swaying to the Beyoncé track laden with expletives as others moved and grooved nearby.
Lyrics to the song include: “We gettin’ f–ked up tonight. We gon’ f–k up the night,” and “Come and cuff it, cuff it, cuff it, cuff it, baby.”
The jovial evening for Lewis-Martin, 63, was a far cry from a day earlier when she was led into a Manhattan courtroom in cuffs to face bribery, conspiracy and money laundering charges.
The embattled ex-Adams aide allegedly traded favors to two real estate investors in exchange for more than $100,000 in bribes – which funded a Porsche for her DJ son and other luxuries, prosecutors said.
The years-long scheme saw Lewis-Martin allegedly abuse her power as senior adviser to the mayor by recklessly fast-tracking city Department of Buildings permits for the rooftop bar Glass Ceiling in Koreatown and the 4-star Hotel on Rivington in the Lower East Side for hotelier Mayank Dwivedi and real estate investor Raizada Vaid, court papers state.
Lewis-Martin’s son, Glenn Martin II, and the two developers were also charged.
The alleged conspiracy saw the public servant allegedly insulate herself by using her son, who professionally goes by DJ Suave Luciano, as an intermediary for the developers to make “asks” of her.
The developers in turn showered her son with two $50,000 checks, promised to foster his fashion line and lent him a hand as he tried to open a Chick-fil-A franchise, the documents contend.
Martin II, 38, deposited the checks in an account shared with his mother, and then transferred $50,000 to his business, Suave Productions, before using it to issue a $113,000 cashier’s check to buy a 2023 Porsche Panamera, which he couldn’t afford on his own, according to court papers.
The remaining cash was spent on unspecified luxury items and other personal expenses.
By using DJ Suave’s bank accounts, Lewis-Martin also laundered the money, prosecutors alleged.
Lewis-Martin surrendered to authorities early Thursday, arriving at Manhattan Supreme Court wearing a leopard-print top and bold red lipstick along with her son. She pleaded not guilty to the charges in the four-count indictment.
Her lawyer, Arthur Aidala, afterward blasted the raps as “preposterous” — and claimed that the alleged bribes were part of a “business arrangement” between Martin II and the businessmen that was “totally legitimate.”
“Ingrid knew nothing about it! Nothing, zero, zilch,” Aidala said.
Lewis-Martin abruptly resigned from City Hall on Sunday, about a month before she was scheduled to quit.
Martin II, Vaid and Dwivedi all pleaded not guilty as well. All four were released without bail and are due back in court Monday.
