Real Estate Donated to These NYC Mayoral Candidates

13 minutes read

The New York mayoral race is very crowded, and newly released campaign filings show where real estate high-ups are placing their bets.

After much speculation, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched his campaign this month and quickly became the frontrunner. Despite the industry’s complicated relationship with the politician, it was clear that many real estate professionals would back his campaign.

Donations over the last two months bore that out.

RXR Realty CEO Scott Rechler, a longtime supporter of Cuomo, gave Fix the City, a super PAC backing the former governor, $250,000. Rechler also donated $2,100 directly to Cuomo’s campaign, the maximum amount permitted for an individual donor.

Lightstone executives gave the PAC $100,000, and A&E’s Douglas Eisenberg chipped in $125,000. Anthony Scarmucci’s Skybridge Capital threw the PAC $100,000. Scarmucci and his wife also each gave $2,100 to Cuomo’s campaign.

Other industry donors to Cuomo’s campaign include 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, each giving $2,100.

Notably, some employees of New York-based title insurance companies also gave to Cuomo, despite the state’s attempts to reel in the industry’s practice of wining and dining its clients during his time as governor.

In just two weeks, Cuomo raked in a total of $1.5 million, the most of any mayoral candidate (excluding public matching funds). Assembly member Zohran Mamdani raised the second-highest amount, taking in roughly $847,000 between Jan. 12 and March 13. Whitney Tilson received $310,000 during that time, and Comptroller Brad Lander raised nearly $228,000.

As for the others: Sen. Zellnor Myrie took in $136,000; Comptroller Scott Stringer, $188,000; Sen. Jessica Ramos, $70,000; and Republican Curtis Sliwa, $76,000 (which is also the total he has raised to date).

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who recently jumped into the race and lost out on more than a month of fundraising during this filing period, managed to bring in $128,000 over a few days. Mayor Eric Adams took in a paltry $36,000 over the last two months, though he brushed off the totals raised by his rivals, telling reporters on Monday that “everyone is catching up to me,” The City reported.

The real estate industry, however, didn’t just donate to Cuomo. Between Jan. 12 and March 13, real estate professionals, including veterans and lesser-known operators, contributed to Democratic mayoral candidates, with a few even throwing money to Sliwa.

Georgetown Companies’ Adam Flatto, for example, gave $2,100 to former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson in January. Flatto was joined by John Zeiler, founder and managing member of Hudson Housing Capital, who donated $1,000 to Tilson’s campaign.

Tilson also drew $400 from GFP Real Estate co-CEO Brian Steinwurtzel and $250 from Cayre Group’s Robert Cayre. Two Trees Managements’ Jed Walentas, who also chairs the Real Estate Board of New York, gave $250 to Tilson, the same amount he donated to Cuomo’s campaign. During the last filing period, Walentas contributed $400 to Sen. Zellnor Myrie.

Despite being one of the top money-raising candidates, Assembly member Mamdani, a democratic socialist who has pledged to freeze rents for tenants living in stabilized apartments, didn’t woo any large real estate donors. Instead, he received small donations, ranging from $5 to $100, from roughly a dozen residential and commercial brokers.

City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams officially launched her campaign a week after Cuomo, giving her the shortest time to raise funds. Even with the passage of the Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses, or FARE Act, the Real Estate Board of New York showed Adams some support in her first fundraising haul.

REBNY, through the PAC Taxpayers for an Affordable New York, gave 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 the passage of the broker fee bill, which requires landlords to pay the rental brokers they hire rather than forcing tenants to cover the cost, during her tenure was “deeply disappointing” but said she is an “important voice to the Mayor’s race.” REBNY has filed a lawsuit to repeal the law.

Signature Urban Properties’ Alan Miller gave Adams $400, as did Taconic Partners’ Paul Pariser and Andy Zlotnick. GFP’s Jeffrey Gural donated $250.

Even if she doesn’t win the primary in June, Adams will continue to serve as City Council Speaker through the end of the year, meaning that she has considerable sway over legislation and land use actions that come before her members.

Sen. Zellnor Myrie was the first of the mayoral candidates to roll out an extensive housing plan, which has earned him some points with developers. Haussmann Development founder Josef Goodman gave Myrie $1,800. L+M Development Partners’ Ron Moelis contributed $400, the same amount he donated to Cuomo’s campaign.

Gilbert Winn of Boston-based Winn Companies gave Sen. Jessica Ramos $2,100 in January and then gave the same amount to Cuomo in March. Hudson Companies’ Joe Riggs donated $150 to her campaign, the same amount he gave Comptroller Brad Lander in January.

Lander, meanwhile, received $2,100 from Millennium Partners Management’s Philip Lovett. He also brought in donations from residential agents and nonprofit housing groups.

Benjamin Companies’ Kenneth Coyle contributed $2,100 to former Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Coldwell Banker kicked in $500.

Cory Zelnik of the commercial brokerage Zelnik & Company gave Republican Curtis Sliwa $250. Marcus & Millichap’s Eric Anton donated $100.

Mayor Eric Adams, meanwhile, only took in a little more than $36,000 over the last two months, with a couple of donations from smaller real estate players. Once a favorite of the industry, some in real estate backed off giving to his campaign after he was indicted in September.

Though many candidates have announced what they expect to receive in public matching funds based on this latest filing period, the city’s Campaign Finance Board will determine those amounts on April 15.