{"id":377439,"date":"2026-10-20T00:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377439\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T00:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T00:30:13","slug":"nyc-real-estate-titans-pump-big-bucks-into-hochul-reelection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/377439\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC real estate titans pump big bucks into Hochul reelection"},"content":{"rendered":"

Big Apple real estate bigwigs pumped big bucks into Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s <\/a>reelection campaign as the Democrat enjoyed frontrunner status in deeply blue New York.<\/p>\n

Some members of the Real Estate Board of New York made max donations to the Friends of Kathy Hochul and the Democratic Party<\/a> \u2014 a move that may aim to give them influence with the governor but may ultimately be fueling policies that are hurting their bottom lines, strategists and Republicans said.<\/p>\n

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul at a campaign stop at Concourse Village in the Bronx on Oct. 18, 2026. Tomas E. Gaston for NY Post<\/p>\n

The backers include:<\/p>\n

Jed Walentas<\/a> of 2 Trees Management, chair of the REBNY board, who gave two donations totaling $18,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

He also donated $129,600 to the Hochul-led New York State Democratic Committee in August of this year.<\/p>\n

Douglas Durst<\/a> of the Durst Organization donated $7,500 combined in two donations in 2023 and 2025.<\/p>\n

The Durst Organization also donated $25,000 to the state Democratic Party in February of this year.<\/p>\n

Leaders of the LeFrak Organization \u2014 Richard, James, Harrison \u2014 donated a combined $18,000 to Hochul on the same date in 2024.<\/p>\n

New York real estate titans dumped massive campaign cash into Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul\u2019s reelection bid. rfaraino<\/p>\n

Members of the Elghanayan family<\/a> who run Rockrose Development and TF Cornerstone donated a combined $43,000 to Hochul this election cycle, in 2023-2024.<\/p>\n

Donald Zucker\/Zucker Company gave a combined $14,500 in 2023 and last month.<\/p>\n

World Trade Center Developer Larry Silverstein donated $18,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

Marc Holliday of SL Green kicked in $18,000 in 2023 and $24,000 from 2024 to 2026 to the state Democratic Party,<\/p>\n

Rob Speyer,<\/a> president and CEO of Tishman Speyer and co-chairman of the Partnership of the City of New York, gave two donations totaling $18,000 in 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n

Tishman Speyer corporate entities delivered another $10,000 to Hochul.<\/p>\n

Jeff Blau, CEO of Related Companies, donated $18,000 in 2023.<\/p>\n

A REBNY spokesperson said it\u2019s up to individual members of the real estate community to decide whom they want to support for elective office.<\/p>\n

\u201cREBNY does not endorse candidates, and our Board members make their own individual decisions about political contributions,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

State GOP Chairman Ed Cox said the real estate titans must feel \u201cburned\u201d after the governor unleashed a pied-a-terre tax<\/a> on luxury second homes in the city under pressure from city Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his allies as they push a \u201ctax the rich\u201d agenda.<\/p>\n

Hochul supporter Rob Speyer, CEO of Tishman, leaves a morning session at the Allen & Company Sun Valley Conference on July 13, 2023, in Sun Valley, Idaho. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cFor their reward, Hochul shoved the pied-a-terre tax down their throats to satisfy Zohran Mamdani\u2019s desire to tax the rich. Of course they were burned,\u201d Cox said.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Brien O.B. Murray, a campaign strategist who\u2019s represented both Republicans and Democrats, said Hochul benefits from the \u201cpower of incumbency.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a conundrum when the people you support go against you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman has received little financial support from business bigwigs, with Knicks and Madison Square Garden owner James Dolan a notable exception<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Major landlords and developers may view the Democrat as a safe bet to win re-election and \u201cdon\u2019t see an upside\u201d in supporting Blakeman, he added.<\/p>\n

Developer Douglas Durst, another Hochul backer, speaks at a press conference announcing the opening of One World Trade Center on Nov. 3, 2014. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Long Island developer Scott Rechler donated to Blakeman\u2019s re-election for Nassau County executive last year, but also gave to Hochul\u2019s re-election for governor.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, former billionaire Mayor Mike Bloomberg is pumping millions of dollars into two Super PACs supporting Hochul<\/a>, and Mets owner Steven Cohen, whose firm received a license to open a casino<\/a> from the state, has maxed out in contributions to the governor.<\/p>\n

Blakeman said he\u2019s the pro-business candidate and will win over the real estate community after he becomes governor with his pro-growth agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am going to win the governor\u2019s race and restore economic growth and job creation to the Empire State by lowering taxes and electric bills for all New Yorkers,\u201d Blakeman said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur business community has a choice: four more years of Hochul policies that increase taxes and drive jobs out of New York, or join my campaign and help build a state where everyone prospers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luxury apartment towers stand in the Waterline Square neighborhood on Manhattan\u2019s Far West Side. UCG\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Thus far, Dolan is the major corporate chieftain sticking his neck out for Blakeman<\/a>, pumping millions of dollars into the pro-Blakeman Super PAC Strong and Safe New York.<\/p>\n

Last week, Dolan sent a letter to the leadership of the Partnership for the City of New York calling its leaders out for being in the tank for Hochul.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where we diverge. The mayor cannot raise taxes without Governor Hochul\u2019s support,\u201d Dolan told Partnership co-chair Rob Speyer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhoever serves as New York State\u2019s next governor is our only defense against these harmful policies for the next three years\u2026 and it is clear that, if re-elected, Gov. Hochul will not hold the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hochul campaign defended the governor\u2019s record,<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Hochul has cut red tape on housing to bring costs down for families across New York \u2013 Blakeman bragged that because he doesn\u2019t build any, housing costs have skyrocketed,\u201d a spokesperson for the Hochul campaign said. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s never put money back in New Yorkers\u2019 pockets, and he\u2019s not going to start now,\u201d the spokesperson added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Big Apple real estate bigwigs pumped big bucks into Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s reelection campaign as the Democrat enjoyed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":377440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[35024,35025,12883,68,426,40682,57,9,56,63,65,64,79763,7754,10512,138788,5162,58,82],"class_list":["post-377439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-douglas-durst","tag-durst-organization","tag-ed-cox","tag-exclusive","tag-kathy-hochul","tag-larry-silverstein","tag-metro","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-pied-a-terre","tag-property-taxes","tag-related-companies","tag-richard-lefrak","tag-sl-green-realty-corp","tag-us-news","tag-zohran-mamdani"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=377439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/377439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=377439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=377439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=377439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}