As I write, polls are open for a few more hours in New York City, but whether Andrew Cuomo or Zohran Mamdani wins the Democratic primary for mayor, it’s clear that this election season was a rough one for real estate.
Cuomo backers must feel like the New York Yankees would if they entered the World Series as a prohibitive favorite but found themselves tied with the Colorado Rockies in the ninth inning of Game 7.
For baseball novices, the Rockies have 18 wins and 60 losses and one of the lowest payrolls in the major leagues — $126 million. The Yankees have a $289 million payroll and the second-most wins in the American League.
Mamdani started the race polling at 1 percent. He had virtually no name recognition, just a few years as one of 150 Assembly members, three minor laws to his credit and nothing close to the fundraising network of Cuomo.
The socialist wing of the Democratic Party from which he hails had won a few races in places like western Queens, northern Brooklyn and Sunset Park, but had never come close to winning a citywide or boroughwide race, let alone the mayoralty.
That he could go from that position to a virtual tie with a political heavyweight like Cuomo is a scary fact for real estate.
It seemed that the industry had recovered from its years of political toxicity after the Great Recession, and progressives had embraced the notion that developers were needed to solve the housing crisis.
Moreover, rent-stabilized rents have been falling (adjusted for inflation) for 10 years, and tenants had passed the Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 and good cause eviction last year. Evictions remain below pre-pandemic levels, despite a huge mound of arrears.
Ostensibly, there was no reason for tenants to panic and rush out to embrace a political neophyte promising to freeze their rents. But they did.
Other factors played a role, of course. Cuomo, coming off a sexual harassment scandal and a stint in the political wilderness, was a tremendously flawed candidate. He had worn out his welcome with many New Yorkers and has never been a great campaigner.
The other Democrats on the ticket were notably lacking in charisma. Brad Lander and Zellnor Myrie had solid platforms, but seem more like someone you’d hire as your accountant than as your mayor, and Scott Stringer is a political has-been.
City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams never had a message, let alone a chance (speakers always perform terribly in mayoral races). And Whitney Tilson tried to be Mike Bloomberg but was missing a $100 million war chest.
Sorry, I left out Michael Blake and Jessica Ramos. Intentionally.
What we’re thinking about: What should the real estate community have done differently in the mayoral election? Send your thoughts to eengquist@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Kathy Wylde, the longtime, soon-to-retire CEO and president of the Partnership for New York City, was banned from City Hall by Rudy Giuliani at the end of his administration. Two reasons: After 9/11, her group was working with Gov. George Pataki and Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton to get federal funding for a state-led authority to steer the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan. Giuliani wanted to go a different route. He was also upset that the Partnership did not support his request to serve several months beyond his term.
Elsewhere…
The New York Apartment Association’s Jay Martin never fails to notice when the New York City Housing Authority announces a renovation project.
Why? Because it’s an opportunity to point out how much more NYCHA spends to renovate its units than owners of rent-stabilized buildings can get under the Individual Apartment Improvements program.
After The Real Deal ran a story on June 20 about NYCHA getting $231 million to overhaul the 877-unit Eastchester Gardens, Martin did his thing.
“It costs NYCHA an average of $375,000 to renovate a single apartment,” he tweeted Tuesday. “When rent-stabilized property owners testified to lawmakers they couldn’t do it for less than $80,000, lawmakers accused them of fraud.”
Martin added, “The same lawmakers are now supporting a rent freeze on buildings which are bankrupt while also calling for more funding for NYCHA.”
Closing time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Tuesday was $7.75 million for a 2,621-square-foot condominium unit at 15 Leonard Street in Tribeca. Jennifer Kalish of Douglas Elliman had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $28.8 million for six floors (including the lobby) totaling 56,640 square feet at 1619 Broadway in Times Square.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $26.7 million for a 4,295-square-foot condominium unit at 217 West 57th Street. Corcoran Sunshine has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 139,384-square-foot, 99-unit residential project at 210-27 26th Avenue in Bay Terrace. Gerald Valgora of Studio V Architecture filed the permit on behalf of Cord Meyer Development Company.
— Matthew Elo
