Community Board-9 Pressured to Appoint Disgraced Political Operative as District Manager

Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a senior adviser to Borough President Eric Adams who has close ties to disgraced Brooklyn Democratic boss Clarence Norman Jr., is putting the heat on Community Board-9 – which encompasses most of Jewish Crown Heights – to hire Norman’s ex-campaign treasurer, Carmen Martinez, as district manager — even though she was previously forced out of a city job for committing fraud.

Some members of the board cried foul after their votes to reject Martinez as District Manager were nullified by CB-9 chair Demetrius Lawrence, who has close ties to Adams’ Borough Hall. Lawrence claimed the selection process wasn’t done correctly.

Martinez — who remains close to convicted political operative Clearance Norman — was forced to retire as the city comptroller’s head of community affairs in 2014 after getting caught doing personal work on the city clock for 14 years.

From the NY Post:

Members of Community Board 9 — which includes parts of Crown Heights and North Flatbush — told The Post that Ingrid Lewis-Martin, a senior adviser to Borough President Eric Adams, is using her political muscle to help ensure Carmen Martinez fills the vacant post, which pays as much as $140,000.

The matter came to a head when CB9 Chair Demetrius Lawrence put the kibosh on an ongoing selection process after Martinez wasn’t selected as one of the three finalists. He claimed the process wasn’t done correctly, but other board members say his actions are further proof that the fix is in.

“It’s bad enough Carmen comes with a lot of baggage,” said one board member. “But if she becomes district manager, it would be a blatant conflict of interest. She already has a direct line to Borough Hall through Ingrid, and the fear is that Borough Hall would be running all our business.”