Brooklyn Councilmember Crystal Hudson appears to have been caught with real estate cash.
A leading contender in the New York City Council speaker race, Hudson took campaign cash from real estate players while publicly pledging not to, the New York Daily News reported. Her campaign then quietly deleted the promise from her website.
Hudson’s Council campaign accepted donations from developers and lobbyists with active business before her office, filings show, even as her website declared she wouldn’t take money from “for-profit real estate developers” or “lobbyists who represent real estate.”
The disclaimer, visible from 2021 through August 2024, was scrubbed sometime after that, months after checks cleared.
Hudson told the public her team removed the pledge during her 2025 reelection campaign “to reflect the changing reality of campaign finance,” calling suggestions of pay-to-play “deeply insulting.” She cited examples of rejecting developer-backed projects, arguing her record proves she’s “unbought and unbossed.”
Still, records show that while her pledge was live, Hudson accepted nearly $1,900 from lobbyists registered to lobby her on behalf of developers. One of them, Bolton St. John’s partner Teresa Gonzalez, donated $250 in 2022 while lobbying Hudson on a mixed-use project from Hudson Companies, then another $250 in 2024 tied to a separate proposal the councilmember ultimately opposed.
Hudson also took a matchable $250 donation from Simba Property Group CEO Jordan Sakni in March, after deleting the pledge. A smaller 2023 contribution from a Madison International Realty analyst turned into $1,575 under the city’s public matching program.
The contradictions could complicate Hudson’s bid to lead the Council, where the speaker wields heavy influence over rezonings and development priorities citywide. Hudson, who represents Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Clinton Hill, is running as the progressive alternative to Manhattan Councilmember Julie Menin, a more centrist Democrat.
The controversy lands weeks before members vote internally on a speaker to replace Adrienne Adams, whose term is set to expire on Dec. 31. Hudson’s alignment with Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani — a Democratic socialist who publicly pledged to not accept donations from the real estate industry — could prove a boost or a liability.
— Holden Walter-Warner
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