Remember when real estate executives were dropping Andrew Cuomo and backing Eric Adams’ re-election bid?
That now seems like ages ago, and I’m hearing from some in the industry that we shouldn’t expect the level of spending that we saw in the lead up to the primary — on either candidate. One source noted that industry insiders were shocked by Cuomo’s loss in the primary and responded by throwing their support behind Adams. Some may now step back, the source said.
This week, I asked readers of this newsletter — specifically those who had decided after the primary to back Adams — if they had changed their mind given the mayor’s place in the polls and the additional corruption allegations against those in his inner circle.
I heard from two people who firmly feel the mayor’s fate in the election shouldn’t be swayed by the accusations against his former top aide and his former real estate chief. Nor the potato chip incident with former aide Winnie Greco. They also remained supportive of the mayor, even after he was personally indicted (charges that were dismissed this year).
“I am sticking with re-electing Mayor Adams because I think he did a pretty good job considering that he had so little support from the City Council and had an impossible job fixing all the mistakes made by [Bill] de Blasio’s disastrous mayoralty,” attorney Stuart Saft said in an email.
For his part, the mayor was defiant at a press conference on Friday, noting that some reporters had asked his staff if he was going to announce his exit from the race. He said he couldn’t leave the city to the other candidates in the race.
“We’ve come too far to go backwards,” Adams said. “That is not going to happen.”
Others in the industry appear to be watching and waiting. For example, RXR’s Scott Rechler, who indicated last month he was open to supporting Adams, has not formally decided who to support, per a rep. He previously donated $250,000 to Fix the City, a super PAC tied to Cuomo.
Today was the deadline for mayoral campaigns to report their donation hauls between July 12 and August 18. As of early Friday evening, the filings for most of the campaigns were not on the Campaign Finance Board’s website.
I was able to start sorting through Mamdani’s filings. He reported taking in more than $1 million during this period. The filings indicate that roughly $19,700 came from real estate-related donors (including those who identified as working in real estate, development, brokerage, property management, construction and architecture). That included a $2,100 contribution from Obaid Khan, chief financial officer at Tishman Realty.
I’m expecting to see donations pop up from fundraisers held for Adams last month (the results of an SL Green fundraiser didn’t seem to be in the last set of filings). The race is fluid, and the donations made in July already seem somewhat stale, perhaps not reflective of where the industry stands today in the race.
Of course, that won’t stop us from writing about which real estate executive donated to each of the campaigns, so keep an eye out for that.
What we’re thinking about: More mayoral candidates should want to sit down and talk to nerds. Specifically, this nerd here — me. With this in mind, I ask you: Will Zohran Mamdani’s press people ever respond to me? Send help to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: In 2010, Houston, Texas, banned a number of attention-getting items that are typical outside car dealerships — think giant inflatable gorilla strapped to a roof or those brightly colored “tube men” that thrash in the wind. The changes were made over traffic safety concerns, per Next City.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The family of Julia Hyman, the 27-year-old Rudin associate killed in the Midtown mass shooting last month, has hired a lawyer to investigate her death, according to the New York Post. A source told the paper the elevators should have been shut down as soon as the shooter entered with a semi-automatic rifle, which might have prevented him from getting past the lobby. The family is also looking into whether Rudin provided adequate security given the building’s high-profile tenants.
— The city issued a permit to self-driving taxi company Waymo for a pilot program, Gothamist reports. The permit allows the company to test eight self-driving cars on city streets, provided a driver is present and no passengers are on board. — Quinn Waller
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Friday was $13.3 million for a condominium unit at 443 Greenwich Street. The Tribeca condo is 3,000 square feet and last sold on the market for $8 million in 2018. Douglas Elliman has the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $28.9 million at 229 West 43rd Street. The New York Times building retail space formerly owned by the Kushner family sold at a steep discount of $114 per square foot.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $10.5 million for a condo unit at 127 East 64th Street. The Lenox Hill condo is 4,000 square feet and is listed by Compass’ Trade Residential Team.
— Joseph Jungermann
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