Here's Who Real Estate Leaders Are Backing In New York's Critical House Races
With Election Day just over a month away, the vast majority of political coverage has been devoted to the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
In New York, Harris is expected to easily capture the state's 28 Electoral College votes. But the Empire State, particularly the suburbs of New York City, is seen as a pivotal battleground in the race for control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which forecasters are calling essentially a dead heat.
That's why the donations each competitive campaign receives could make an outsized impact, and the city's real estate industry leaders are looking to throw their financial weight behind influencing the outcome.
Two years ago, four New York-area congressional seats flipped from blue to red, giving Republicans control of the House. The Democrats retained control of the Senate in 2022, but Pew Research found that the two parties were the furthest apart they have been in five decades.
The last two years have seen the federal government stagnate: Congress passed a record low of 27 bills into law in 2023, with lawmakers disagreeing more, speaking less and spending less time in D.C. than in the past.
Real estate has long been an industry active in political fundraising. The industry donated $433.1M to campaigns in the 2020 election, surpassing record highs hit in 2012, according to nonprofit OpenSecrets' analysis of Federal Election Commission data.
Total contributions from the industry are half that amount so far this election cycle, totaling $231.4M, the nonprofit’s analysis shows. Bisnow analyzed federal campaign finance donations to understand where some of the biggest names in NYC real estate are putting their stamp on campaigns.
Bisnow looked at the most competitive New York seats within spitting distance of New York City: the state's 1st, 3rd, 4th and 17th congressional districts. Bisnow reached out to every real estate donor and organization mentioned by name in this story, and while the majority of donors either didn't respond or declined to comment, many shared insights into what compelled them to donate to a campaign this year.
Jeff Gural, the chairman of GFP Real Estate and former chairman of Newmark, donated to several Democratic campaigns because he said that is the party that he thinks would deliver more for his hometown.
“Republicans are not interested in helping New York City or state,” he told Bisnow in an interview last week. “I think we would have the House of Representatives looking out for New York.”
Israel A Key Factor In Driving Cash To Incumbent
Besides the four competitive districts, Bisnow also looked at one other race that has seen an influx of real estate cash: New York’s 15th Congressional District in the Bronx, where incumbent Democrat Ritchie Torres is running for reelection.
Torres won the 2022 race with 82% of the vote, and his Republican opponent this year, Gonzalo Duran, is a former Democrat who just announced his candidacy in June and had no cash in his campaign's coffers, according to the most recent FEC data.
Even though Torres' seat appears safe, he has still raised $7.25M from a donor list awash with real estate names, several of whom cited Torres’ support for Israel as a key motivation for their contributions. Gural donated $3,300. His nephew, GFP principal and co-CEO Brian Steinwurtzel, donated $3,600, but he told Bisnow that the donation had “nothing to do with my business.”
“I donated because people like Ritchie vocally stand against antisemitism and support Israel's right to defend itself,” Steinwurtzel wrote in an email.
Torres’ legislative track record includes introducing a bill allowing the Department of Education to require antisemitism monitors in federally funded colleges and universities. He visited Israel alongside other lawmakers in November 2022 has described himself as “the embodiment of a pro-Israel progressive.”
“Ritchie Torres has been so outspoken, with such moral clarity, about the troubling rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism,” Durst Organization principal David Neil told Bisnow in an email when asked why he donated $6,600, the maximum allowed, to Torres' reelection campaign.
Mark Moskowitz, who is president and CEO of family firm Argo Real Estate and a “lifelong supporter of Israel,” according to the company’s website, donated $3,500 to Torres’ campaign and told Bisnow that he has long supported Torres due to his work combating antisemitism.
“He espouses liberal values and initiatives, and at the same time, displays the moral and intellectual clarity we should expect from all our representatives,” he said.
Rudin co-chair Eric Rudin donated $5K to Torres’ political action committee, while Rudin co-CEO Michael Rudin donated $10,100 to Torres' campaign — well over the legal maximum. A spokesperson for the Rudin family declined to comment.
Other real estate leaders who donated the maximum to Torres' campaign include Vornado retail executive Haim Chera, multifamily developer Hal Fetner, apartment manager Stephen Kraus and Douglaston Development CEO Jeffrey Levine, who also donated $21,600 to Torres' political action committee.
“I am happy to support someone like Ritchie who shares my views not only on housing, but my views about my right to be a proud Jew in New York City,” Fetner told Bisnow.
Allan and Alex Arker and Daniel Moritz of The Arker Cos., a family-run low-income housing developer, each donated $5K to Torres’ campaign, while family-run commercial developer JEMB Realty principals Joseph, Morris, Louis and Jacob Jerome each donated $2K.
Torres also collected several donations from brokerage bigwigs, including Cushman & Wakefield debt broker Gideon Gil, who donated $4K; Newmark CEO Barry Gosin, who donated $2,500; and several of Gosin's subordinates, including Ben Shapiro, Michael Morris, Neil Goldmacher, David Falk, Eric Cagner, Corey Borg and Dustin Stolly, who each donated between $1K and $5K.
Beyond his position on Israel, Torres’ support for LGBTQIA+ individuals and for building more housing influenced Justin Pelsinger, partner and chief operating officer of Queens-based residential developer Charney Cos., to donate a combined $2K to Torres’ campaign fund and PAC.
“I didn’t view this from a real estate lens. I personally just really like him as a politician,” Pelsinger said, adding that Charney Cos. has neither projects nor plans to build in Torres’ district. “He’s a really commonsense moderate.”
New York’s 3rd District
Little-known Long Island Republican George Santos scored one of the major upsets of the 2022 midterms when he defeated Robert Zimmerman to represent New York’s 3rd Congressional District. But the Republican-majority House expelled him last year after he stole campaign money for personal use. Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and identity theft last month and awaits a prison sentence of at least two years.
Democrat Tom Suozzi won Santos' seat in a special election earlier this year, and now he has to campaign again to hold on to the swath of Long Island covering Nassau County and parts of Queens. Suozzi, who ran against Kathy Hochul for governor in the 2022 Democratic primary and whose legislative record is mostly focused on tax-related bills, is predicted to win, but the race is still competitive, according to Cook Political Report’s analysis.
Suozzi’s campaign has raised $7.8M so far, while Republican challenger Michael LiPetri has raised $353K. A Bisnow analysis revealed no contributions to LiPetri’s campaign from prominent New York real estate players, but plenty to Suozzi’s.
Douglas Durst, who listed Royal Realty as his employer but is also chairman of multigenerational office owner The Durst Organization, donated a total of $9,900. His nephew, Durst Organization President Jody Durst, donated $3,300.
RXR Realty CEO and Chairman Scott Rechler donated $10K to Suozzi’s PAC and $9,900 to his campaigns, while his younger brother and the firm’s co-chief operating officer, Todd Rechler, chipped in $3,300 to the campaign fund.
Rudin co-Chairman Bill Rudin also donated $9,900. David and Jed Walentas, the founder and CEO, respectively, of luxury office and residential developer Two Trees, each contributed $6,600. Fetner donated $3,300.
Founder and CEO of Queens-based developer Century Development Group George Xu donated $1,500 to Suozzi's campaign, while JLL broker Michael Colacino and Cushman & Wakefield executive Bruce Mosler contributed $3,300 and $2,500, respectively.
Other names on Suozzi's donor roll include developer The Albanese Organization’s Russell and Christopher Albanese, who donated $6,250 each. Developer and private equity investor The Kalikow Group Vice President Gregory Kalikow donated $5K, and outer borough commercial developer Dynamic Star co-founder and CEO Gary Segal donated $1K.
New York’s 17th District
Mike Lawler, the Republican incumbent representing a district that stretches from Tarrytown almost to Poughkeepsie, has drummed up $5.7M in donations, FEC records show. More than $434K of that came from real estate donors, according to OpenSecrets’ analysis.
Lawler, who took credit for stopping congestion pricing in a recent campaign video, has advocated for Israel and co-sponsored Torres’ antisemitism monitor bill.
Blackstone Chairman and CEO Stephen Schwarzman, a prominent Republican donor and Trump supporter, gave $6,600 to Lawler's reelection bid. Billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis also donated a total of $6,600 to Lawler’s campaign, and Eugene Schneur, managing director and co-founder of multifamily developer SBV RE Investments, donated $3,300 to Lawler’s campaign.
“I believe that we should have a Republican Congress,” Catsimatidis said in an interview. “The country is hurting, and a lot of the Democratic people are making the wrong decisions.”
Peter Kalikow, president of family firm H.J. Kalikow & Co., donated $6,600 to Lawler’s campaign.
“Peter Kalikow has a long history of contributing to those political campaigns that reflect his priorities of a strong and secure America, and a strong economy,” a spokesperson for the company told Bisnow in an emailed statement.
Lawler is trying to hold off a challenge from Democrat Mondaire Jones, whose campaign has raised slightly less than the incumbent at $5.5M. The race is a toss-up, according to Cook Political Report.
Redistricting caused an overlap in 2022 between Jones’ and former Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s seats, so Jones decided to allow Maloney to run as the Democratic incumbent and instead bid for a Manhattan district. Jones lost in that primary, and Lawler defeated Maloney in the 2022 election. But now Jones is back upstate as Lawler’s challenger.
Jones has been viewed as a progressive Democrat but recently irked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with his support for Israel.
Jonathan Rose of affordable housing developer Jonathan Rose Cos. donated $6,600 to Jones’ campaign, as did Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York and now head of his family’s real estate firm. GFP’s Gural donated $3,300.
Some real estate industry leaders who donated to Torres also popped up on Lawler's donor rolls: Vornado's Chera donated $1,403 to Lawler, and Bill Rudin donated $1K. Lawler has also tallied more donations from unions than his rival.
New York’s 1st District
In New York’s 1st District, which spans the northernmost stretch of Long Island, Republican incumbent Nick LaLota has raised a total of $2.9M this election cycle after first being elected two years ago, according to FEC data compiled by OpenSecrets. His challenger, former Rudy Giuliani speechwriter and self-proclaimed centrist John Avlon, has raised $2.3M running as a Democrat.
A Bisnow analysis of FEC data found that LaLota’s donors included Schwarzman, who contributed $6,600. Scott Barone, founder and principal of construction and development firm Barone Management, donated $7,500 to LaLota’s PAC and $5,600 to his campaign, while Peter Kalikow contributed $6,600 to the campaign.
Avlon’s donor list includes Tishman Speyer CEO Rob Speyer, who donated $3,300. The firm’s senior advisor, Cheryl Cohen Effron, and Senior Managing Director for Global External Relations and Business Development Michelle Adams donated $3,300 and $1K, respectively.
Keith Green and Ann Ciardullo, who work as brokers for Sotheby’s International Realty, pitched in $5,750 and $5,250, respectively, to Avlon's campaign. Luxury condo and hotel developer Millennium Partners Managing Partner Mario Palumbo, who is also the board chair for Friends of the High Line, donated $1K.
New York’s 4th District
Like LaLota, Republican and former police officer Anthony D'Esposito is the incumbent candidate for New York’s 4th Congressional District after defeating an incumbent Democrat in 2022. He has thus far shored up $3.3M in donations.
Laura Gillen, former town supervisor for Long Island’s Hempstead, is the Democratic contender in the race for the patch of Long Island that almost butts heads with Jamaica, Queens. Her campaign has raised a total of $3.2M.
D’Esposito’s donor list includes Peter Kalikow, who donated $3,300, and Barone, who contributed $2,500. Chera donated $1,403, and office owner and developer Edward Minskoff donated $1K.
Schwarzman also donated the maximum $6,600 to D’Esposito’s campaign, while Blackstone Global Head of Tactical Opportunities David Blitzer and its head of institutional client solutions for credit, Beth Chartoff Spector, also donated $6,600. Blackstone Global Chief Operating Officer for Real Estate Debt Strategies Brian Kim, Head of North America Private Equity and co-Head of Technology Investing Martin Brand, and Senior Managing Director and Head of Global Government Affairs Wayne Berman also contributed between $1K and $3,300 each.
Gillen’s campaign donor list includes RXR’s Todd Rechler, who contributed $500, and The Albanese Organization’s Russell Albanese, who chipped in $1,500. Carlyle Group Managing Director for Real Estate Credit Barclay Jones donated $1K, and Ripco Realty President Michael Korff donated $750 to Gillen’s campaign.
Jeff Gural also donated $6,600 to Gillen's campaign.
“I'm not so much worried about what's good for real estate,” Gural said when asked about the Democratic Party’s policies and their impact on his industry. “Real estate always does well, as long as you don't have too much debt.”
CORRECTION, OCT. 1, 2:30 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misstated Jody and Douglas Durst’s relationship. This story has been updated.
