Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: People in real estate gave Andrew Cuomo money.
It has been a while since I’ve written a story about this, but there was a time when it was a regular thing.
The latest campaign filings (showing donations between Jan. 12 and March 13) show RXR CEO Scott Rechler, previously a consistent donor to Cuomo when he was governor, gave Fix the City, a super PAC backing Cuomo, $250,000. He also donated $2,100 directly to Cuomo’s campaign this month.
An entity tied to Lightstone contributed $100,000 to the PAC. Joseph Paolino Jr., former mayor of Rhode Island turned developer, gave $25,000. A&E Real Estate’s Douglas Eisenberg donated $125,000 to the PAC. Anthony Scarmucci’s Skybridge Capital threw the PAC $100,000. Scarmucci and his wife also each gave $2,100 to Cuomo’s campaign.
Twenty-one people who self-identified as working in real estate gave Cuomo’s campaign the maximum $2,100, or a total of more than $44,000. That group included Cammeby’s Avi Schron, KRE Group’s Jonathan Kushner, Capstone Equities’ Daniel Ghadamian, Ruben Companies’ Andrew and Richard Ruben, Somerset’s Keith Rubenstein, GFP’s Jeff Gural and BFC Partners’ Winthrop Wharton.
Several employees of L+M Development Partners gave to Cuomo, including Ron Moelis ($400), as did employees of Two Trees Management (including founder David and principal Jed Walentas, with the latter having also donated to Whitney Tilson and Zellnor Myrie).
Donors who indicated that they work in real estate gave more than $73,000 to Cuomo’s campaign. But many real estate folks are sneaky and list their occupation as CEO or chief executive or self-employed, which is a small part of why sifting through campaign donations is a nightmare.
Among that group, in addition to Gural and Rechler, I spotted MAG Partners’ MaryAnne Gilmartin, who donated $1,000 and Ashley Cotton (who previously worked for Cuomo), who gave $250. Brown Harris Stevens CEO Bess Freedman donated $250, as did Douglaston Development’s Jessica Sherman.
Real estate donors in the other campaigns are more scattered. Mayor Eric Adams previously could count on donations from heavy hitters in the industry, but many have backed off giving to his campaign since his indictment. His latest filing shows he only brought in a little more than $36,000 between Jan. 12 and March 13, with only a couple donations from smaller real estate players.
A PAC tied to the Real Estate Board of New York (Taxpayers for an Affordable New York) gave City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams $2,100.
“Adrienne Adams has advanced a pro-growth agenda as Speaker, most notably in her support for City of Yes,” REBNY President Jim Whelan said in a statement. He noted that the passage of the broker fee bill, known as the FARe Act, was “deeply disappointing” but said she is an “important voice to the Mayor’s race.”
Adams is also remains an influential force in the city, given that even if she loses the primary, she will be the City Council Speaker through the end of the year.
Laszlo Syrop, managing director of acquisitions at the Hudson Companies, donated $175 to Sen. Zellnor Myrie. Moelis also gave Myrie $400.
A PAC tied to Airbnb has spent more than $400,000 on ads supporting City Council incumbents Kevin Riley, Oswald Feliz, Amanda Farias, Selvena Brooks-Powers and Mercedes Narcisse. The groups is also supporting Tyrell Hankerson’s bid for Adrienne Adams’ Council seat and Rafael Salamanca’s campaign for Bronx Borough President. The incumbents are all sponsors on a bill that would ease stringent short-term rental rules for allow one- and two-family homes, allowing owners to rent out their property for fewer than 30 days, using sites like Airbnb.
What we’re thinking about: What do you make of real estate companies rolling back their diversity, equity and inclusion policies? Do you have any experiences with these programs and policies? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: There was a time when mortgages were great? Bill Pulte, the new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted “Make Mortgages Great Again” on social media platform X on Saturday. On Monday, Pulte removed eight members from the Fannie Mae board and six members from the Freddie Mac board.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The city agreed to pay cab drivers $140 million in back pay to settle a lawsuit filed in 2006, Gothamist reports. A federal court found that the Taxi and Limousine Commission unfairly revoked licenses from thousands of drivers after they were arrested, even though they were never convicted.
— The state will pay $8 million to settle a claim brought by Carl Dukes, who spent nearly two decades in prison for a murder he did not commit, the Times Union reports. The settlement comes after a state appellate court ruled that Albany detectives had coerced a confession from Dukes, related to the murder of a University at Albany student in 1997. The court found that Dukes was innocent and should be further compensated for the time he spent incarcerated.
— Unless a court says otherwise, the city’s congestion pricing program will continue despite the Friday shutdown deadline set by the Federal Highway Administration, CBS New York reports. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the “deadline will come and go and the congestion pricing program will continue to deliver much better traffic environment for New York and economic benefits as well.”
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Tuesday was $60 million for a 5,840-square-foot condominium at 150 Charles Street in the West Village. Peter Zaitzeff, Jared Freedman and Samantha Germano of Serhant had the listing.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial closing of the day was $27.5 million for a 9,765-square-foot commercial building at 34 East 61st Street in Lenox Hill. Christian Advocates Serving Evangelism (CASE) sold the property to Kassin Sabbagh Realty.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $29.5 million for a 4,019-square-foot condominium at 432 Park Avenue in Midtown. The Eklund Gomes Team at Douglas Elliman has the listing. Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a 226,342-square-foot, eight-story, 236-unit project at 694 East 142nd Street in North New York. Alen Moghaddam filed the permit on behalf of NYC’s Building & Land Development Services.
— Matthew Elo
