TRD Analysis of Real Estate Donations to Andrew Cuomo

24 June 2025

With the Democratic primary coming to an end, the question is no longer who in real estate donated to Andrew Cuomo’s run for mayor, but who did not.

A super PAC backing Cuomo, Fix the City, has brought in nearly $25 million, with more than $5.5 million coming from real estate executives and construction unions.

Some of the biggest names in the industry have directly donated to Cuomo’s campaign, Fix the City or, in some cases, both.

For that reason, it is notable that some did not throw money at Cuomo. A TRD analysis compared historical donations from industry professionals to Cuomo compared to this year’s mayoral contributions. Related Companies’ Jeff Blau, Red Apple Group’s John Catsimatidis, Island Capital Group’s Andrew Farkas and Moinian Group’s Joseph Moinian were among previous Cuomo donors who gave tens of thousands of dollars to his gubernatorial runs over the years but appear not to have donated to his mayoral campaign or super PAC.

That doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t support Cuomo. They did not donate to other mayoral candidates and, in some cases, others from their company or family gave to Cuomo. In Related’s case, for example, the firm’s chair Stephen Ross contributed $50,000 to Fix the City. Meanwhile, before Cuomo jumped into the mayoral race, he was considering helping Farkas — a longtime ally — build a luxury marina in Puerto Rico, according to the New York Times.

Others may be hedging their bets. In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Catsimatidis said people in the city are starting to believe Cuomo is the “best bet” for the Democratic party. He also said, however, that he considers Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, as “still viable,” and put his chances of beating Cuomo in the general election at 50/50.

When asked if he would support Adams in the general election, Catsimatidis replied in a text message that if President Donald Trump supports Adams, “why not?”

Some industry stragglers who donated to Cuomo or the super Pac in recent weeks included SL Green Realty’s Marc Holiday, who gave Fix the City $100,000 last week; Extell’s Gary Barnett, who contributed $10,000 this month and then, under the name Gershon Barnett, gave another $250,000; and an entity tied to Rudin Management, which gave $260,000 between the end of May and early June.

Meanwhile, RXR’s Scott Rechler gave Fix the City $250,000 in March, within the first few weeks after Cuomo announced he was running. Arker Companies executives donated $125,000 to the super PAC through various LLCs, the Durst Organization contributed $110,000 and Two Trees Management gave $250,000.

Those who identified themselves as working in real estate donated more than $500,000 directly to Cuomo’s campaign. Rockrose’s Henry Elghanayan, GFP’s Jeff Gural, Aurora Capital Associates’ Bobby Cayre, KRE Group’s Jonathan Kushner and Michael and Seren Shvo each gave the maximum $2,100 donation.

Cuomo has said that regardless of Tuesday’s Democratic primary results, he will run as an independent in the general election. Many of his primary opponents have cross-endorsed each other and urged their supporters against ranking Cuomo.