A new attack ad paid for by a real estate-tied group doesn’t mention Council member Chris Marte’s votes against housing projects nor his stance against landmark zoning changes.
Instead, the video begins with a statistic about women who have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace as a segue to call out Marte for allegations against a former staffer.
“Unfortunately, we have a councilman who harbors and protects serial harassers,” the ad states. “When Christopher Marte’s senior advisor was caught leaving four vile, misogynistic messages on a woman’s voicemail, Marte defended the harasser and said it wasn’t grounds for termination.”
The video, paid for by Jobs for New York, a super PAC tied to the Real Estate Board of New York, refers to Marte’s former aide, Steven Wong. In 2023, the aide allegedly left four voicemails for journalist Lotus Chau, calling her a sexist slur and other offensive terms in Cantonese in response to a story she’d written, the New York Daily News reported at the time. Chau filed a complaint with the City Council in February 2023.
The New York Daily News reported that Marte initially called Wong’s comments “unprofessional and inappropriate” but said they were not grounds for being fired. Marte later said he had only known about one of the three voicemails at first, and when he asked Wong about them, the aide offered his resignation.
A representative for Marte did not respond to a request seeking comment.
The ad is the third City Council race targeted by Jobs for New York, and the first to go negative. The PAC has reported $750,000 in contributions so far and spent $300,000 on ads supporting Ling Ye, who seeks to unseat Council member Alexa Avilés, and Shanel Thomas-Henry, who is looking to replace term-limited Council member Francisco Moya. The group is expected to spend more than $50,000 on the digital ads attacking Marte.
A representative for REBNY declined to comment.
Other ads paid for by the PAC this year have focused on candidates’ records on public safety, housing and other quality of life issues. The Marte ad stands out, though it is not the only campaign ad to focus on sexual harassment allegations during this election cycle.
Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after being accused of sexual harassment by multiple women, including former staffers. Cuomo has denied the allegations and told the New York Times this week that he regrets stepping down as governor. His opponents in the mayoral race have continued to highlight the accusations, which also came up during the Democratic primary debate this week.
Real estate executives, including REBNY members, have donated millions of dollars to another PAC backing the former governor’s mayoral bid, Fix the City. Many have also donated individually to his campaign, and REBNY’s president has collected donations for Cuomo as an intermediary for the campaign.
Marte, whose district includes the Lower East Side, Soho and Chinatown, is facing challenges in the primary from attorney Jess Coleman, longtime Community Board 1 member Elizabeth Lewinsohn and Eric Yu, who works for the MTA and also serves on the community board. Coleman has positioned himself as the Yimby in the race, and has been endorsed by pro-development group, Open New York.
Over the years, Marte has clashed with the real estate industry. Marte was the only Manhattan member of the City Council to vote against City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, which included several zoning changes aimed at easing housing construction throughout the city. Marte framed the text amendment as a giveaway to developers and before his no vote, specifically called out REBNY.
“The City of Yes is a ‘yes’ only to real estate developers,” he said at the time. “Yes, people don’t need to see the sky when they leave their house. Yes, the Real Estate Board of New York can plan a better future for our neighborhood than the people that live in it.”
Marte also opposed the rezoning of Soho and Noho, which was approved under his predecessor, Council member Margaret Chin. He introduced, but has not passed, 16 bills, and co-sponsored another 185, according to his campaign website. He has also supported the Elizabeth Street Garden’s fight against eviction to make way for 123 affordable apartments for seniors. His stance on that project, in an unusual turn of events, potentially puts him on the same side as the Adams administration, which has said it supports the project but has paused the development.
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