New York City Chief Advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin has been a fixture in community activism for decades.
Breaking the glass ceiling, Lewis-Martin is the first Black woman and Afro-Latina to be the chief advisor to a New York City mayor, making history.
In an interview with The Voice Newspapers, Lewis-Martin shared insights into her career, her role in Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, and the city’s recent accomplishments.
Lewis-Martin is a wife, mother, and grandmother who comes from a rich cultural background with parents of Barbadian and Panamanian descent.
She attended John Jay High School, initially aspiring to become an attorney. However, her career path took a turn when she chose to pursue teaching and later became involved in fraternal organizations. Lewis-Martin’s political journey began when she worked on Congressman Major R. Owens’ campaign and in his office.
Her dedication to community service was recognized with an NAACP award.
Lewis-Martin credited her parents and her teacher, Mrs. Mildred Scott at PS 161, for instilling in her the power of African American voices to effect systemic change.
She recalled, “My parents, my father and mother, to their credit, they would allow us to express ourselves as long as we did it respectfully.”
Lewis-Martin’s commitment to community service extended beyond politics. She ran a non-profit that organized summer camps for 200 children in Flatbush Gardens.
This experience reinforced her belief that there are many ways to serve the community.
“We are elected to do our principles bidding, which is to serve the community. And it’s important that we give back good information, relevant information, and that we do what’s best for the community,” she stated.
Lewis-Martin’s relationship with Mayor Eric Adams dates back to 2004. She managed his state senator and borough president campaigns and served as his senior advisor during his tenure as Brooklyn Borough President.
When Adams was elected mayor, Lewis-Martin chose a role that would allow her to serve the people directly.
“I want to be able to have freedom and I want my voice to be heard. So I’m at the table. I can go into any meeting and have the respect commensurate with my years of work and my expertise,” she explained.
In her current role, Lewis-Martin assists deputy mayors in shaping city policies and oversees administrative services, including human resources and computerization at City Hall. She manages a $60 million budget for City Hall operations.
Lewis-Martin stated that due to collective efforts from the mayor’s team, including Maria Torres-Springer, they have made major strides in housing.
“We have more housing being developed, finance of affordable housing. We connected records of New Yorkers to affordable housing units. And this is without 421A,” she noted.
She also praised Deputy Mayor Anne Williams-Isom’s handling of the migrant crisis, stating, “She has put great programs in place to ensure that the migrant situation is fully under control. They’re not all over the streets.”
The Chief Advisor mentioned the administration’s success in securing funding to restore the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE), crediting the efforts of women on the team.
She also highlighted the success of programs for children, teens, and young adults such as Summer Rising, Summer Youth Employment Program, and college internships.
“Over 100,000 kids, I believe, will be employed this summer. As well as last year. So we’ve been doing some great, phenomenal things,” Lewis-Martin said.
On education, she reported improvements in the city’s system, with students outpacing the rest of New York State in both reading and math. She attributed this success to NYC Public Schools Chancellor David Banks’s proactive measures, including the reintroduction of phonics in schools.
“We now have phonics back in school…they’ll get reading comprehension through content. If you can’t read, you’re not going to comprehend anything. And you have to learn how to sound the words out,” she explained.
Lewis-Martin also highlighted economic achievements under Adams’ administration, including the creation of 4.7 million jobs and the lowest black unemployment rate since 2019.
NYC’s bond rating has also been increased to AA. The city has seen impressive gains in tourism, becoming the fourth most visited in the country.
Additionally, under Mayor Adams, the city has shut down illegal marijuana spots, removed more than 15,000 illegal guns from the streets, and confiscated over 40,000 illegal mopeds.
Lewis-Martin reported that homicides in the city have decreased, and contracts with over 90% of the city’s unionized workers have been settled. The city has also allocated nearly $500 million to its Blueprint to Prevent Gun Violence, aiming to address issues before violence occurs.
The administration has invested $750 million in pay raises for human service workers.
Furthermore, $19 million has been invested in the FutureReadyNYC program to integrate technology career training into schools, enhancing educational opportunities and workforce readiness.
In two and a half years, Mayor Adams, his Chief Advisor Lewis-Martin, and his administration have accomplished great feats in bringing the city back from the COVID-19 pandemic and economic losses to being a great city filled with opportunities for all.
