Real Estate Donates to Cuomo After Adams Drops Out

6 October 2025

The day after Mayor Eric Adams dropped his re-election bid, real estate donors turned to Andrew Cuomo.

The latest filings with the city’s Campaign Finance Board show that industry professionals gave more than $32,000 to Cuomo on Sept. 29, one day after Adams announced that he was suspending his campaign. When including donations given to Cuomo’s campaign the day of the mayor’s announcement, that number climbs to roughly $41,000.

That’s more than half of the $77,700 he took in from industry donors between Aug. 19 and Sept. 29, according to a TRD analysis of campaign finance filings that included different real estate sectors, including development, property ownership/management, commercial, residential, architecture and construction. These totals include donors who self-reported working in the real estate industry or could otherwise be easily identified in filings.

The industry donations were part of a rush of contributions after Adams abandoned his campaign. During this reporting period, Cuomo received $895,000 in donations (when accounting for contributions that were refunded), with $380,000 coming in on Sept. 28 and 29.

Real estate donors who gave the maximum of $2,100 in the six-week filing period include: A&H Acquisitions’ Alex Adjmi, investor Yaacov Amar, Crown Acquisitions’ Richard Chera, Coldwell Banker broker Emily Becker and United American Land principals (and brothers) Jody, Jason and Albert Laboz.

Republican donor and Florida developer Alan Keen, who was also involved in the Florida chapter of No Labels, a centrist group that pursued but eventually abandoned plans to nominate a third-party presidential candidate, also gave $2,100, as did Michigan-based shopping mall developer Robert Taubman.

A few members of the Cayre family donated on Sept. 29, including Cayre Equities’ Ken Cayre, who gave $400 and Aurora Capital Associates’ Robert Cayre, who donated $250. Aurora President Jared Epstein was one of several people who sent out an email calling for donations to Cuomo after Adams dropped out of the race. The email stressed the need to “defend NYC against radical socialist policies,” referring to frontrunner Zohran Mamdani, who is a Democratic Socialist.

Meanwhile, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa brought in $423,700, of which at least $11,750 came from industry donors. Landlord Jerry Lebedowicz was the only real estate donor to give the full $2,100. M&N Management’s Nikitas Drakotos and Bronx landlord Alan Feurman each contributed $500.

Mamdani received more than $410,000 during the six-week filing period, with at least $2,500 coming from donors working in real estate. The most he received from industry donors during this period was a $500 contribution from an affordable housing developer based in Sacramento, Calif. Still, some industry leaders have signaled that they plan to work with Mamdani if he wins in November.

Before the Democratic primary last summer, Cuomo was the clear favorite among the real estate industry. A TRD analysis in June found that people in the industry donated more $500,000 directly to this campaign. Following Mamdani’s win, the industry remained split on who to back.

Even with Adams out of the race, Cuomo faces an uphill battle. A September poll by the New York Times and Siena University found that in order for Cuomo to meaningfully chip away at Mamdani’s double-digit lead, Sliwa would need to drop out of the race.
After Cuomo lost the June primary, Adams saw a spike in donations from the real estate industry. Following the indictments of some of his top-ranking officials, he dragged even further in the polls, trailing fourth behind Sliwa. As a result, contributions slowed. The latest filings show some industry donations trickled to his campaign, but most of the disclosure features refunds to previous real estate professionals.