After an indictment of a close advisor to Mayor Eric Adams revealed that planned street safety and bike lane improvements in Greenpoint were halted at the request of a local business owner, Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani vowed to reform a political system that disregards the safety of everyday New Yorkers.
At a rally on McGuinness Boulevard on Tuesday, Mamdani said the halted project was "a living testament to a political system that ignores the need of working class people and evidence of the politics of the past that we so desperately want to put in our history books continues to live amongst us today."
Mamdani was referring to the indictment last week of Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a longtime confidant of Adams, who allegedly took bribes from Brooklyn business owners, among others, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
According to court documents and statements made on the record, between March 2022 and November 2024, Lewis-Martin allegedly interfered with a plan from the Department of Transportation to redesign and install protected bike lanes on McGuinness Boulevard, a key corridor in northern Brooklyn used by Broadway Stages Ltd., a film and TV production studio.
Gina Argento and Anthony Argento, the owners of Broadway Stages, allegedly asked Lewis-Martin to change the city's planned bike lane project that would remove lanes for vehicular traffic, according to the DA.
In exchange, Gina Argento allegedly transferred $2,500 to Lewis-Martin's bank account and provided over $10,000 in catering services for a Gracie Mansion event. The Argentos also allegedly secured a speaking role for Lewis-Martin on the TV series Godfather of Harlem, which was filmed at Broadway Stages. She was paid more than $800 for her appearance in the show, which also made her eligible to join the Screen Actors Guild.
"...it begs the question of what the safety of New Yorkers is worth," Mamdani said. "Is it not worth more than $12,500 and a cameo in a TV show?"
The Department of Transportation added bike lanes to McGuinness Boulevard in 2023. The city then removed one traffic lane in each direction between Humbolt and Calyer Streets last year. But the DOT has not eliminated a traffic lane along the the northern section of the street that approaches the Pulaski Bridge, near where Broadway Stages is located.
The stalled project, which Mamdani said he would resume if elected, doesn't just mean something for Greenpoint residents, “it sets a model for the rest of the city," he said.
"Corruption isn’t just about what politicians gain. It’s also about what the public loses," Mamdani said.
