Adam Clayton Powell IV Lobbied Eric Adams' Appointee Jesse Hamilton, Then Went On Trip To Japan With Him

By Greg B. Smith, The City

October 7, 20924

Jesse Hamilton, a close ally of Mayor Eric Adams who appointed him to oversee the city’s real estate operations, went on a trip to Japan with Adam Clayton Powell IV, a former elected official-turned-registered lobbyist. Powell lobbied Hamilton earlier this year on behalf of a Bronx contractor, THE CITY has learned.

The trip to Japan also included Adams’ chief advisor, Ingrid Lewis-Martin, and several other people. Hamilton and Lewis-Martin had their phones confiscated last week by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office when they landed at JFK International Airport from Japan.

Lewis-Martin was also served with a federal grand jury subpoena and had her home raided by the FBI and the city Department of Investigation.

Hamilton succeeded Adams’ in his state senate seat but lost re-election in 2018. Adams made him deputy commissioner in the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS), where he oversees all matters concerning city-owned properties and properties that the city leases out
In disclosure filings, Powell — a former City Council member and State Assembly member — reported that he had a Feb. 21st meeting with Hamilton on behalf of his client, Totem Holdings Inc., a contractor that specializes in doing government work. The subject was “determination regarding real property.”

Powell also reported that at some point in May or June 2023, he spoke with Mayor Adams and lobbied Adams’ top aide, Tiffany Raspberry, on behalf of the developer, Fortis Contractors LLC. The subject was “the HERRC program,” a reference to the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers the city set up to house asylum seekers.

Powell served in the city council in the 1990s, then in the assembly from 2001 until 2010, when he lost a re-election bid to Charles Rangel. He gave the mayor’s 2025 re-election campaign $400, the maximum allowed for individuals doing business with the city. Powell also threw a birthday party for Adams in December 2022.

His client, Alexis Pena, president of Totem, made three donations to Adams’ 2025 campaign totaling $1,000. Two of those contributions were made in June and July, after Powell’s meeting with Hamilton.

Powell and Pena did not return THE CITY’s calls seeking comment.
A spokesperson for DCAS did not immediately respond to THE CITY’s questions about who paid for Hamilton’s trip to Japan.

Feds Serve Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Chief Advisor to Adams, With Subpoena and Raid Her Home
Federal authorities served Ingrid Lewis-Martin, one of Mayor Eric Adams’s closest aides, with a subpoena as soon as she landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport after returning from a vacation to Japan, her lawyer confirmed to THE CITY.

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.