Cat in the wall, ey?
There is an episode of the television show “Always Sunny in Philadelphia” in which, in order to rescue a cat that is trapped inside the wall of one of the characters’ apartments, they decide to put more cats in the wall.
This approach’s flaws surface almost immediately, resulting in two, rather than one, cat stuck in the wall. Despite the evidence, the Always Sunny crew doubles down on the strategy and continues to feed felines into the wall, hoping for different results.
Now, a group of financiers is reportedly trying to throw more cats into the wall.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a new super PAC is forming with plans to raise $20 million to oppose Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee. This follows the efforts of another super PAC, Fix the City, which raised more than $25 million to support former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and to oppose Mamdani.
I’m not a political strategist, nor a psychic who can foresee the use and impact of this money. But in the Democratic primary’s aftermath, Cuomo supporters in the real estate industry told me over and over that Mamdani’s approach — connecting directly to voters, energizing young people and groups previously uninterested in city politics and hammering home an affordability-focused message that resonated — is what won him the nomination.
Which is to say: Running more ads that equate Mamdani with chaos while backing a candidate who is running the same sort of campaign that lost the primary might not be a winning strategy. If you think otherwise, I point you to another television reference.
But a lot can happen between now and November: Candidates can change their strategy, find new ways to appeal to voters. Real estate executives have already started coalescing around Mayor Eric Adams’ campaign, after backing former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. SL Green’s Marc Holliday held a fundraiser this week to raise money for the mayor. More are planned this summer.
As of this week, Adams and Cuomo were still calling on each other to drop out of the race, driven by a concern that their similarly moderate politics would siphon votes from each other.
The next several months will determine how competitive the general election will be: Will one or more of the independent candidates drop out? Will Mamdani’s strategy appeal to the broader electorate? Will his opponents try to adopt his approach or double down on their old playbooks?
The primary upended conventional wisdom: The long-assumed frontrunner, who courted support from the city’s most powerful unions, lost. How candidates react to that could determine who becomes the next mayor, and who will be left with a wall full of cats.
What we’re thinking about: Will the Real Estate Board of New York’s appeal to the Second Circuit in its FARE Act lawsuit succeed? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: You probably can’t blame Shakespeare for the European starlings in New York City. The story goes that amateur ornithologist Eugene Schieffelin released 60 such birds in Central Park in 1890 as part of a bizarre quest to introduce all birds mentioned in William Shakespeare’s plays to the U.S. Researchers at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania debunked the story, according to the New York Times.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The city is shutting down a concrete recycling facility in Brooklyn that was the subject of complaints from residents bothered by the dust it produced, Gothamist reports. The site is part of the planned redevelopment of the Brooklyn Marine Terminal, where the city hopes to build more than 7,000 housing units. The facility will be relocated, but the city has not specified a new location.
— The City Council’s Minority Delegation endorsed Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa on Wednesday using official council letterhead, which is barred under the City Charter and previous Conflicts of Interest Board decisions, City & State reports. Individual council members can endorse candidates but are not supposed to do so in an official capacity.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Friday was $7.1 million for a 2,800-square-foot co-op unit at 44 West 77th Street on the Upper West Side. Cindy Plehn of The Corcoran Group had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $24 million for 64-68 Maspeth Avenue in East Williamsburg. Three properties including 64-68 Maspeth Avenue closed for $12.3 million and 65 Maspeth Avenue closed for $12 million. Whitford Management sold the properties to entities tied to Urbana Partners and Tryline Capital. Tax records show that there are 45 residential units and 51,000 square feet.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $19.95 million for a 7,500-square-foot townhouse at 462 West 23rd Street in Chelsea. Douglas Elliman’s Matthew Slosar and Justin Grabell have the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 21,542-square-foot, 17-unit mixed-use project at 8712 Bay Parkway in Bath Beach. Zarnia Kindo of Arcon Inc. filed the permit on behalf of Ivan Khymych.
— Matthew Elo
