The latest donation numbers are in for NYC’s mayoral race.
Unsurprisingly, some real estate folks threw money Andrew Cuomo’s way after Mayor Eric Adams dropped out of the race. More than half of the funds he received from industry folks were donated the day of and after Adams announced he would not seek reelection.
Here are the totals (including campaign refunds this reporting period) from Aug. 19 to Sept. 29:
Andrew Cuomo: $895,000
From real estate: $77,700
Zohran Mamdani: $410,000
From real estate: $2,500
Curtis Sliwa: $423,700
From real estate: $11,750
Meanwhile, various political action committees continue to draw tens of thousands, in some cases hundreds of thousands, of dollars. A quick overview of the latest donations shows more of the same spending patterns among industry professionals and some surprises.
Notably, Toll Brothers President David Von Spreckelsen gave $2,500 to OneNYC, a PAC backing Mamdani, just a few days before Adams abandoned his campaign. Within the industry, affordable housing developers appeared to be the first to publicly warm up to the idea of a Mamdani administration. Real estate trade group leaders have also said they expect to work closely with Mamdani if he becomes mayor.
The Solomon Organization, a New Jersey-based development firm, gave $35,000 to New Yorkers for a Better Future Mayor 25, an anti-Mamdani PAC, in September. Abro Management’s Richard Scharf contributed $25,000 to the PAC in August, but the amount wasn’t reported until last month. An LLC tied to Berndt Perl, co-founder of APF Properties, gave the PAC $2,500 in August, which was reported this month.
Elizabeth Tisch, married to Jon Tisch, CEO of Loews Hotels, gave pro-Cuomo PAC Fix the City $50,000 last month. In the lead-up to the primary, Fix the City raked in millions from real estate donors.
Kamson Corporation CEO Richard Kurtz donated another $50,000 this month to Anyone but Mamdani, a PAC formed by private investigator and former Adams ally Bo Dietl. Kurtz gave the PAC $50,000 in August as well.
Just days before Adams’ exit, cryptocurrency billionaire Brock Pierce gave $1.1 million to Empower NYC, a super PAC backing Adams. Pierce apparently is urging Adams to change his mind, per the New York Daily News.
What we’re thinking about: If you could ask each of the mayoral candidates one real estate-related question, what would it be? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: The NYC chapter of the League of Women Voters is endorsing most of the housing-related measures that will appear on the ballot Nov. 4. The group is not taking a position on the question that asks voters if an appeals board should take the place of the mayoral veto in the city’s land use review process. Instead, the group has listed pros and cons of the measure on its website.
The fight over the ballot questions continues this week with a press conference held by the City Council and various labor unions to “highlight the misleading language and negative impacts” of the questions. Open New York is holding its own rally next week to promote the proposals.
Elsewhere in New York…
— Nassau County Supreme Court Justice Bruce Cozzens on Monday upheld a local law that bans transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports at county-run facilities, Gothamist reports. The New York Civil Liberties Union plans to appeal.
— Mayor Eric Adams is in Albania this week to “meet with the prime minister, business and tech leaders, tour factories, and discuss new opportunities to boost economic activity and tourism to New York City,” a City Hall spokesperson told NBC New York reports. The cost of the four-day trip is partially being covered by the Albanian government, according to Gothamist. This comes exactly one week after Adams dropped his reelection bid — and roughly a year after the mayor was indicted on corruption charges that included accepting travel benefits from Turkish officials. The charges were ultimately dropped.
— ICYMI: Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is in the running to take over for Kathryn Wylde as president of the Partnership for New York City, the New York Post reports.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Monday was $16.2 million for a condominium unit at 220 Central Park South. The 2,400-square-foot condo is a new construction unit. The Corcoran Group’s Deborah Kern had the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $168.6 million for 113-117 West 24th Street in Chelsea. In 2013, Gary Barnett sold the 270,000-square-foot site to John Lam, who redeveloped the parking garage space into two hotels.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $27.8 million for a condo unit at 432 Park Avenue. The condo is 4,500 square feet. Peter Ashe has the listing.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 85,479-square-foot, 14-story, mixed-use building at 114 Bruckner Boulevard in the Bronx. Samuel Wieder of S. Wieder Architects is the applicant of record. — Joseph Jungermann
