Ingrid Lewis-Martin, top advisor to embattled Mayor Eric Adams, abruptly resigned from City Hall on Sunday, the Mayor’s office confirmed to amNewYork Metro.

Lewis-Martin, the subject of a federal investigation, said she is retiring to focus more on her family and herself. Politico first reported the story.

“As you would say, this has been a good ride,” she said in a written statement. “I will use author’s license and say that this has been an amazing ride. Now, today, the time has come for me to focus on my wonderful family and myself and retire.”

Dec. 15 was Ingrid-Lewis’ last day on the job. Her announcement to retire comes as Adams faces acriminal trial in April 2025 for federal corruption charges that include bribery, conspiracy, soliciting foreign campaign donations and wire fraud, which were first announced in.

Adams was indicted on Sept. 26. He has remained steadfast in denying the charges.  

Lewis-Martin’s departure is not unexpected. According to Politico, she said during a radio show in September that she was thinking of retiring in January.

An American chaplain, Lewis-Martin served as Adams’ chief aide since he took office in 2022. Before that, she worked with Adams as his chief of staff in the NYS Senate and was his senior advisor during his two terms as Brooklyn borough president.

But her tenure is not without scandal. In September, she was served with a subpoena by federal authorities just as she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport after a trip to Japan.

Federal agents also raided Lewis-Martin’s Brooklyn home, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized her phone. According to reports at the time, she was not home when the raid occurred, but her family was.

“Ingrid has not been just a friend, a confidant, and trusted advisor, but also a sister,” Mayor Adams said in a statement. “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. I, and every New Yorker, owe her a debt of gratitude for her decades of service to our city. 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.”

Lewis-Martin is the latest senior official in the Adams Administration to leave City Hall amid the ongoing criminal probe into the mayor.

According to Politico, Lewis-Martin has not been charged with any wrongdoing, and the scope of her investigations has not been made public. In her statement, she said she would continue to fight for NYC, but not through public office.

“I am a native New Yorker, and I love my city,” she said. “Know that I will continue to do everything in my power to fight for this great city every day as a private citizen.”

Police are investigating an early-morning shooting in Brooklyn on Sunday that wounded an MTA bus passenger.

The tragic death of Jordan Neely serves as a stark and sobering example of mental health struggles, homelessness and systemic shortcomings.

The post <i>Review & Comment: </i><br>Death of Jordan Neely reminds us of systemic changes needed in mental health infrastructure appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

NYC’s reduced-fare public transit riders now have access to OMNY, replacing the MetroCard as their only way to receive the discount, MTA officials announced on Friday. 

Reduced fare customers, including seniors ages 65 and older and New Yorkers with disabilities, represent the MTA’s largest customer base to receive OMNY access. The group represents nearly 1.5 million New Yorkers participating in the discount program. 

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber described the reduced-fare transition to the tap-and-go payment program as a “major milestone” for the New York state agency. 

“This isn’t just an announcement. The enrollees are already getting cards in the mail,” Lieber said.

Benefits are the same as MetroCard

Reduced-fare customers who switch from MetroCards to OMNY will receive the same half-price fares that they currently get on MTA buses, subways, Staten Island Railway, the Roosevelt Island Tram and the Hudson Rail Link.

Riders will also continue to get free transfers when they tap their cards at each stop along their trip.

A video on how to use a reduced-fare OMNY card is available on the MTA’s YouTube channel.

Currently, customers interested in applying to the reduced-fare program can only do so in person at the NYC Transit Customer Service Center located at 3 Stone St. in Lower Manhattan.

However, MTA officials said they will accommodate in-person applications at other customer service centers and mobile vans throughout the five boroughs by early 2025.

“New Yorkers love OMNY. They love how it makes paying the fair so easy,” Lieber said. “They love how OMNY makes sure they get their best bag for a buck.”

The tap-and-go technology is streamlined to automatically give customers the best deal, he added.

“You don’t have to pick between $100-plus for a monthly. Or $30-plus for a weekly. Just tap-and-go and the system will give you the best deal.“ Lieber explained.

Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA’s construction and development president, said OMNY will make commuting in NYC faster and easier for reduced- and full-fare riders. 

“We have restructured our contract to ensure better, faster and cheaper delivery of this crucial service, and today we’re proud to celebrate a great win for riders everywhere,” he said. 

State Sen. Jessica Ramos from Queens said her staff will help constituents enroll in the program if they do not receive an OMNY card in the mail.

“I urge all my neighbors to check your mailboxes for your new reduced-fare OMNY cards,” she said. “If you do not receive one, my office is open to help New Yorkers enroll in this cost-saving program to keep money in your pocket and transit riders moving through our city.” 

Over 80% of full-fare riders use OMNY instead of MetroCards. To date, transit customers have used OMNY to tap into the transit system nearly 2 billion times, MTA officials said.

The MTA reached another milestone over the summer when 1.1 public school students transitioned from using MetroCards to OMNY to navigate the city.

The transition also gave kids access to more rides, as they are now permitted to take four free rides on mass transit per day, up from three with student MetroCards. The cards are also active 24/7 every day of the year, rather than from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on school days only.

How to switch to OMNY

The MTA will host a webinar to help customers transition from MetroCards to OMNY on Friday, Dec. 20, at 10 a.m.

Participants can register online.

Quick-thinking cops in Brooklyn are being called heroes for saving a man who was shot on board a bus early on Sunday morning. 

Police said the shooting happened near the corner of Rockaway and Hegeman Avenues in Brownsville at about 1:20 a.m. on Dec. 15.

According to law enforcement sources, the victim, a 25-year-old man, was riding on board a westbound B15 bus along Rockaway Avenue when two gunshots flew through the passenger side windshield, one of which struck the man in the neck.

The bus stopped at the corner of Hegeman Avenue and Thomas S. Boyland Street, where officers from the 73rd Precinct responded. 

Seeing the wounded man, the responding officers rendered aid and rushed him to nearby Brookdale Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.

So far, no arrests have been made in the ongoing investigation, police said.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

The 73rd Precinct had tallied 47 shootings year-to-date through Dec. 8, according to the most recent CompStat report, a 17.5% increase from the previous year.