Is Andrew Cuomo the Commercial Real Estate Industry’s Favorite for Mayor?

New York Mayor Eric Adams is in a mess that some in the commercial real estate industry think former Gov. Andrew Cuomo can clean up.

A grand jury last week indicted Adams on five counts of bribery, wire fraud and public corruption. The mayor has since responded by assembling a cadre of clergy who have stood behind him at multiple press conferences, and has had his new defense attorney, Alex Spiro, denounce the charges against him and the prosecutors who approved months of raids into his aides’ homes.

Most importantly, the mayor spoke with Gov. Kathy Hochul several times over the past week to persuade her not to start an official process forcing his removal, even though she has the authority to do so. He also followed her advice to cut loose any aides who are ensnared in the feds’ probes, including top aide Tim Pearson, who resigned this week, according to CNN. (Pearson has not been charged.) 

“I’m giving the mayor an opportunity now to demonstrate to New Yorkers and to me that we are righting the ship, that we have the opportunity to instill the confidence that I think is wavering right now,” Hochul said.

At least 46 public officials in New York have called on Adams to step down, but Adams has given no indication that he would back down from tangling with federal prosecutors. If Adams were to relinquish power, a nonpartisan special election in which all New York voters would have a say would be scheduled on the first Tuesday that occurs 80 days after he left office. 

Some commercial real estate leaders believe a snap election could leave the industry unprepared for a deluge of candidates whose records aren’t well known or who are openly hostile to their interests. And the Cuomo mania — if it’s that at all — is still in its nascency. 

“There’s no organization prepared to make someone mayor inside the real estate industry,” one real estate insider said. “People inside will pick a horse and back it, but nobody in the real estate community or business community is backing someone right now. Unions are far more organized on this.”

Rogue one
The city’s business leaders aren’t rallying publicly for Adams, but they are still supporting him during the biggest crisis of his political career — for now.

“The real estate community is probably covering their bets,” said Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, which represents the city’s corporate CEOs. “I have not gotten the sense that there was any interest in pushing the mayor out as opposed to giving him a chance to defend himself and address the question of how he’s going to deal with his case.”

During his primary race three years ago, Adams raked in contributions from developers and their lobbyists, and he continued to receive donations for his 2025 campaign from real estate titans at SL Green, the Durst Organization, RXR and Related Companies. 

Industry leaders have been largely satisfied with the mayor’s handling of public safety, homelessness and the city budget. And they support his administration’s City of Yes proposal to incentivize more housing development by changing zoning rules citywide and removing regulatory burdens such as parking mandates.

“No one wants to see his policies undermined or derailed,” Wylde said. “The interest of everyone in the business community is stability, continuity of people and policies, and avoiding disruption.”

Some even said privately the U.S. attorney’s charges that Adams accepted travel perks and campaign contributions from Turkish officials in exchange for expediting building approvals for the country’s 36-story consulate are not serious enough to force him out of office. (On Wednesday, prosecutors suggested they may bring additional charges against the mayor and hand out more indictments.)

Others are saddened by the mayor’s alleged schemes but worried about the alternatives.

“The industry would rather have Adams stay in as long as possible, not that everyone is overly excited about him because he’s been a disappointment,” one real estate broker said. “The biggest fear is that it could get worse, and we can’t let it get worse.”

Cuomo strikes back
If Adams were to resign, the real estate community could turn to a familiar face.

Andrew Cuomo is interested in running for mayor in a special election and has met with local political leaders to discuss the current state of the race, the New York Post reported. Cuomo had privately indicated he would not run against Adams if he remained in office, but has not decided whether to compete in a Democratic primary in June, the report said. (If Adams does not resign until March, then a special election would not occur.)

A Cuomo spokesperson called any focus on the former governor’s future “premature.”

“Gov. Cuomo has spent a lifetime in public service fighting and delivering for the people of New York and will do whatever he can to help — that said, the speculation is premature as Gov. Cuomo believes Mayor Adams is entitled to due process,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said.

Cuomo stepped down as governor in August 2021 after state legislators sought to impeach him over a string of sexual harassment allegations. He has since kept a low profile, speaking at Black and Latino churches in the outer boroughs, before testifying last month at a U.S. House oversight subcommittee hearing about his administration’s policies that sent patients back to nursing homes during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

That hasn’t stopped some real estate leaders from trying to recruit him to run if Adams can’t continue his re-election bid, sources said. As a politician with near-total name recognition among New Yorkers, Cuomo would be a strong candidate in a special election where Democratic, Republican and independent voters would all cast ballots. 

The city’s ranked choice voting system could be a boon as well. Voters will be able to rank more than one candidate in their order of preference, allowing Cuomo to marshal enough votes among conservative Democrats, Republicans and independents to cobble together a majority of the electorate.

Name recognition helps in a low-turnout election too. “It’s always good,” said Jerry Skurnik, a political consultant with Engage Voters U.S., a marketing consultancy. “It definitely would help him. The election would include people who don’t always vote in primaries who know who Andrew Cuomo is as opposed to City Council members or state senators running for mayor.”

But some industry insiders believe real estate leaders are better off looking elsewhere, citing Cuomo’s role in passing a law five years ago that restricted rent hikes and reversed deregulation of rent-stabilized and rent-controlled apartments. That has made such buildings among the least desirable commercial real estate investments in New York City.

“He has his allies, but there is still some animosity from the 2019 rent regulations, where Cuomo invited everyone to call their legislators before the law passed,” one insider said. “He stabbed us in the back.”

A new hope
The number of candidates running for mayor has only continued to grow since Adams’s indictment.

Adams was already facing challenges from city Comptroller Brad Lander, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie of Brooklyn and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani of Queens in next year’s Democratic primary. That list would grow substantially if Adams resigned, but the leading candidate to succeed Adams could be New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who would serve as interim mayor for 80 days until a special election would occur. 

Williams has quietly been preparing for the possibility. This week, the progressive politician indicated that he would run in a special election if it were held, and then continue campaigning in next year’s primary and general election if he happened to win. He has also been in contact with Wylde about scheduling a meeting with city business leaders, the Post reported.

But Williams and other left-leaning candidates running in the Democratic primary — some of whom have campaigned against landlords or refused to take real estate contributions in past races — have spooked industry leaders, who are scrambling for a viable alternative.

Some Democratic and labor leaders are unhappy with the field as well, and are recruiting state Attorney General Letitia James to jump into the race, reports said. While not the industry’s preferred candidate, James would be preferable to a Lander or a Williams. 

“Tish’s political career wasn’t designed to become attorney general. She has always been thinking about what’s the next step, and is close to politically connected people who, if they ask her nicely enough to run for mayor, then she would run for mayor,” one real estate insider said. “She’ll raise $1 million in two weeks in matching funds if the unions decide she’s the candidate.”

For now, civic leaders are waiting for the mayor or the U.S. attorney’s office to make the next move.

“I think so long as Eric is in the seat, everybody is watching what is going on with the other candidates,” Wylde said. “He’s still mayor. Anyone who is going to come out for other candidates while we have a mayor will do so at their peril.”