The Powerful Pols and Lobbyists Affecting New York City Commercial Real Estate

For all the power in the hands of those on the Power 100, not much would get done without the aid of politicians and lobbyists. Run afoul of this or that public figure, and you can forget your gleaming new skyscraper or your coveted development incentive.

Nowhere might that be more true than in the nation’s premier commercial real estate bullring of New York City.

The city’s millennial mayor, Zohran Mamdani, made the Power 100 as an honorable mention alongside San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. No other political figures made the list.

One of the reasons Mamdani made the cut was for his CRE-focused appointments during his first months in office. They include Leila Bozorg, whom he named deputy mayor for housing and planning, and Sideya Sherman, the new chair of the City Planning Commission (CPC) and director of the Department of City Planning — both of whom could be Power 100 honorees in their own right.

As a close aide to Mamdani, Bozorg has influence over shaping not only what the mayor executes but also how it is executed. She has managed to develop an approach to real estate that only pulls punches when it’s necessary to boost the housing supply.

Bozorg is handling Mamdani’s pursuit of a rent freeze for rent-stabilized tenants as well as launching a program to partner with private sector firms to create an insurance program serving affordable housing and rent-stabilized landlords, likely the most distressed sectors in commercial real estate.

Sherman also wields an immense amount of power as head of the city agencies approving affordable housing developments through new processes adopted by voters in the November election, one of which, called Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (exactly what it sounds like), is already spurring the approval of new projects.

Sherman may be exercising more authority than her predecessor, Dan Garodnick, as ELURP gives DCP and CPC the final say in approvals for new, non-as-of-right developments, something that previously was the remit of only the New York City Council and the mayor.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin may have had her wings clipped prior to ascending to the position in 2026 by the ballot initiatives that created ELURP and additional tools for greenlighting development. However, the speaker retains immense bargaining power when it comes to the municipal budget, making her an indisputably powerful person.

The budget allocates money to the New York City Housing Authority, essentially the city’s largest apartment owner, and controls how much money goes toward city services that often impact CRE, such as the Sanitation Department and the Police Department. 

At the state level, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislative leaders such as Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie of the Bronx also wield power over tax and development policy. Everyone in CRE, it seems, is waiting for them to either scrap or seriously tweak the 485x property tax exemption program for housing development. (Good luck, given it’s an election year.) 

There are also people who have not sworn any oaths of office yet still have pull on projects.

Suri Kasirer, CEO of lobbying firm Kasirer, represented at least one property owner and a coalition of backers for a rezoning in Long Island City, Queens, that the City Council passed in late 2025. The rezoning could create up to 15,000 new homes. 

As a power-behind-the-power, Kasirer was also vital in the effort to get City Council approval for Vornado Realty Trust’s 350 Park Avenue, an office property expected to create 6,000 jobs while funding preservation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and St. Bartholomew’s Church via air rights deals.

Jordan Barowitz of Barowitz Advisory has also been key for the industry, advising Summit Properties on its takeover of the Pinnacle Group’s distressed rent-stabilized portfolio — a deal that closed this year involving 5,000-plus apartments, but which faced unexpected opposition from the mayor — and working with Milford Street Association Captive Insurance Company in its efforts to tame a skyrocketing expense line for affordable housing.

Barowitz’s clients include the Durst Organization, Silverstein Properties, Rush Street Gaming and J.P. Morgan Chase, to name a few.

Then there are the trade groups such as the Real Estate Board of New York (already on Power 100) and the New York Apartment Association (NYAA). The latter dates from just September 2024, when two other landlord groups merged. Under CEO Kenny Burgos, the NYAA in June 2025 flexed its muscle in the Democratic primary for mayor. NYAA spent $2.5 million in outreach for former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

That didn’t work out, of course. But Burgos, a former state assemblyman, seems to be building a name for the organization through the media after speaking out against a rent freeze. He has met with Mamdani, whom he called a “frenemy.”

Mark Hallum can be reached mhallum@commercialobserver.com.