Cuomo Gains Heavy Financial Support From Real Estate Industry

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is making steady gains in catching up to his opponents in the New York City mayoral race, nearly all of whom have had a considerable head start.

Cuomo’s campaign has already raised $1.4 million in the 13 days since he threw his hat into the ring to unseat incumbent Eric Adams as mayor, according to Campaign Finance Board figures. And some real estate elites already pitched in large sums for Cuomo’s political return, including the likes of RXR CEO Scott Rechler who dropped $250,000 to Cuomo’s political action committee.

Rechler wasn’t alone in backing Cuomo’s PAC. A&E Real Estate Management executive chairman Douglas Eisenberg wrote a $125,000 check, while Anthony Scaramucci, a former White House director of communications and founder of SkyBridge Capital, chipped in $100,000. 

Scaramucci led press conferences for the Trump administration for only about 10 days in 2017.

RXR, A&E and Skybridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Other donors include Seaport Entertainment Group Executive Vice President Luciana Fato, who gave $100,000; Gerald Crotty, the president of private equity firm Weichert Enterprise, with $7,900; Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone with $50,000; Lightstone Real Estate Partners with $100,000; and real estate developer Joseph Paolino Jr. with $25,000, according to CFB documents.

The PAC donations, unlike direct contributions which are capped anywhere between $400 and $3,700 for mayoral candidates, have no limit, meaning there are fewer individual entries but often larger sums.

But Cuomo’s individual donations were also stacked with real estate players.

The Ruben family, owner of the Ruben Companies, gave Cuomo checks amounting to $9,400 via Amy, Andrew, James, Richard and William. Meanwhile, John Schrenker, COO of the Ruben Companies, gave $2,100

Smaller donations included GFP Real Estate Chairman Jeffrey Gural, who between himself and Paula Gural signed checks amounting to $5,900, while AMAC Holdings founder Maurice Kaufman and The Kushner Real Estate Group’s Jonathan Kushner each gave $2,100, according to records. Former Silverstein Properties CEO Marty Burger and TerraCRG founder Ofer Cohen each put $400 in the donation plate. 

Other real estate figures giving $2,100 — the maximum amount for individual donations — include Cammeby’s International’s Avi Schron, Capstone Equities’ Daniel Ghadamian, Washington Square Partners’ Paul Travis and Somerset Partners’ Keith Rubenstein, records show.

The vast real estate support through funding upends the possibility that some industry leaders might hold a grudge against Cuomo for signing the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act while he was governor., The tenant-protection law pitched the rent-stabilized market into a lasting state of financial uncertainty for landlords.

The law made it illegal for property owners to jack up the rent on rent-stabilized units once a family moves out and renovations are made. 

Instead, industry leaders seem to be banking on Cuomo’s record for major infrastructure projects such as the replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge and the Tappan Zee Bridge, the revitalization of the Canarsie Tunnel, as well as getting the ball rolling on congestion pricing.

Other choices for mayor in the June Democratic primary include New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; former city Comptroller Scott Stringer; state legislators Zohran Mamdani, Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos; attorney Jim Walden; former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson; former Bronx Assemblymember Michael Blake; and New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

While Cuomo’s total campaign fund still lags behind his opponents, he pulled in the most money in recent filings. Mamdani raised $845,000 in the recent two-month filing period, Tilson $319,000, Lander $228,000, Stringer $187,000, Blake $141,000, Myrie $136,000, Adrienne Adams $128,000 and Ramos $70,000.  

Eric Adams lagged behind all his opponents, pulling in just $36,100 in the past two months, Crain’s New York Business reported.

Mark Hallum can be reached at mhallum@commercialobserver.com.