Mayor Eric Adams finds himself again dealing with scandals involving former members of his administration as he seeks re-election.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Mayor Eric Adams’ leading November general election rivals pounced on the latest round of corruption charges against his former top adviser, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, that came down Thursday, as well as a report that another ex-top aide, Winnie Greco, tried to hand a journalist a cash-stuffed potato chip bag the day before.
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani — the frontrunner in the mayor’s race — and his leading independent rival, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, both charged that New Yorkers have suffered due to the alleged corruption that has run rampant in Adams’ administration. They said the myriad scandals that have plagued the mayor — a Democrat mounting a long-shot reelection battle as an independent — show he has no business remaining at the helm of City Hall.
In the first instance, Manhattan state prosecutors charged Lewis-Martin, who resigned from Adams’ administration last December, in four separate indictments on Aug. 21. She is accused of accepting $75,000 worth of cash and other lavish benefits from several individuals in exchange for a bevy of official favors.
In the other, Greco, who served as Adams’ director of Asian affairs before resigning late last year, was suspended from her volunteer role on his reelection campaign after trying to bribe a reporter with a wad of cash stuffed in a bag of potato chips. The reporter Katie Honan, works for the news website THE CITY.
Mamdani, in a statement, painted the latest round of corruption charges as yet another distraction from tackling vital issues, including the city’s affordability crisis.
“Corruption isn’t just about what a politician gains, it’s about what the public loses,” Mamdani said. “And right now, New Yorkers are paying the price as another flurry of indictments continue to erode their trust in our democracy and distract from the affordability crisis that demands action and urgency. Our city deserves a mayor who spends their time with constituents, not stuck in courtrooms. We need a new era of leadership.”
But Cuomo, who is polling second to Mamdani, offered the more pointed rebuke of the two.
The former governor, during a Thursday afternoon Midtown Manhattan press event in which his staff jokingly placed bags of chips on reporters’ chairs, declared that the corruption scandals are “sad” and “embarrassing” for the city.
Cuomo went so far as to suggest, “I don’t think Eric Adams is a viable candidate for mayor.” Yet when asked if Adams should drop out of the race, Cuomo said, “I think that is his decision.”
“This is a race between myself and the Assemblyman,” Cuomo said, referring to Mamdani. “I think that was the case, I think it’s more clearly the case. I think New Yorkers have made it clear that they just have had enough with Mayor Adams.”
Cuomo stands to gain far more than Mamdani from Adams dropping out of the race. He and Adams are splitting support among the same moderate voters, therefore, if Adams drops out, Cuomo would pick up at least some of those voters and have a better chance at overcoming Mamdani.
Cuomo and Adams have pressed each other to exit the race to strengthen their ability to defeat Mamdani, but neither has capitulated. Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, who often trails in third or fourth place with Adams, has also refused to drop out.
Cuomo further charged that Adams’ alleged quid pro quo with the Trump administration to drop his federal corruption case earlier this year is “disqualifying.” Adams denies that he made a deal to have his charges dropped.
“I think when he made a personal arrangement that benefitted him with the president of the United States at the cost of the people of New York City, that was disqualifying,” Cuomo said.
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