New York City's real estate leaders were angry at Andrew Cuomo when he was governor over his rent laws and for holding up a tax break they wanted for more than a year, but now that he's the overwhelming favorite in the Democrats' primary for mayor, the industry is starting to quietly back him.
"What they've said to me is they're going to hold their nose and vote for Cuomo," a New York City-based lobbyist, granted anonymity to speak freely, commented to Politico, the outlet reported Wednesday.
Landlords and developers have already donated more than $2 million to Fix the City, the pro-Cuomo super PAC backing his race.
The donations from some entities are in the six figures, including Brooklyn-based Two Trees and Scott Rechler of RXR, who have donated $250,000 each. Vornado Chairman Steven Roth, a friend of President Donald Trump, has donated $150,000, and Related CEO Steven Ross, whose firm fought Cuomo almost 10 years ago over the lapsed tax break, has shelled out $50,000.
Meanwhile, opponents are now calling Cuomo the candidate of Big Real Estate, but some interviews with developers, landlords, and others indicate they are supporting him out of fear, said one Democrat political consultant.
"It's fear of who else could be mayor, but it's also fear of him," said the consultant, who works with developers, pointing to Cuomo's almost legendary vindictiveness. "A lot of the money that's going, especially to the PAC, I would view it not so much as support but protection money."
Cuomo in 2019 signed an overhaul of the state's rent law, which curtailed the amount landlords could raise rents on regulated tenants. The law also ended landlords' ability to deregulate apartments, passing a designated rent threshold.
"There has been no legislation more devastating than the 2019 rent laws," Jay Martin, the political director of the New York Apartment Association, told Politico. "It completely changed the business operating environment. The idea that it's not a big deal or not a huge weight on their decisions, it is — it's a huge issue; it's got to be addressed."
A housing deal was approved last year to roll back some of the rent changes, but those in the industry said the measure was not enough.
In March, Politico reported that Cuomo had met with the Real Estate Board of New York behind closed doors, where he suggested he should have tried to rein in the 2019 rent laws.
Cuomo's intervention in 2016 with a real estate tax break that ended up lapsing also enraged the real estate industry.
Then-Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2015 had sought a plan backed by the real estate industry to replace a tax incentive that was set to expire that June.
Cuomo, who was feuding with de Blasio, sided with construction trade unions that opposed the mayor and left the program's future up to negotiations between the Real Estate Board of New York and unions over wage rules to be attached to a new tax break. The incentive expired in early 2016 and was not revived for a year.
Cuomo, though, has recently been criticizing a version of the tax break passed last year, saying it does not work because of construction labor requirements.
"There are not enough new units coming online because it doesn't pencil out," he said. "It doesn't work economically. No one's building over 99 units."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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