NYC Mayoral Primary: What Real Estate Needs To Know About The Contenders

In most mayoral elections in New York City, the outcome of the Democratic primary decides who gets to move into Gracie Mansion.

But the 2025 primary on June 24 might be a little more complicated, thanks to the second ranked-choice mayoral election and the most recognizable candidates openly discussing running as independents in the November general election if they lose the primary.

Leading the race is former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. He’s been the frontrunner and the real estate industry’s favorite option since he formally entered the race in March. His top competition is real estate’s least favorite candidate, state Assemblyman and Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani.

Also in the running, but far behind Cuomo and Mamdani in the polls, are City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson. 

Absent from that list is the incumbent, Mayor Eric Adams, who announced in April he’d be running as an independent following the fallout from his short-lived prosecution and cooperation with the Trump administration. Money from the real estate industry — which stood behind Adams after he was charged with bribery — that had flowed to Adams’ campaign coffers has been redirected to Cuomo’s.

Campaign finance shows us which sectors of New York support which candidate, but they have been a source of controversy this cycle.

The New York City Campaign Finance Board denied Cuomo’s campaign $622K in matching funds in May, alleging that he coordinated with an independent expenditure — the NYC equivalent of a super political action committee — that should be wholly separate from the candidate.

The IE supporting his campaign, Fix The City, has raised more than $19M. Mamdani's IE, New Yorkers for Lower Costs, has raised $678K.

With the level of drama, we could be in for a longer race than normal. So, here’s a primer on each candidate that was polling above 5% a month before primary day, including their legislative record, who's donating to their campaign and what their proposals mean for the city’s real estate industry.

Andrew Cuomo

Résumé: Cuomo served as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development under Bill Clinton before becoming New York Attorney General in 2006 and then governor in 2010. He was reelected twice before resigning in 2021 amid multiple credible accusations of sexual harassment.

Record: Cuomo’s storied career started with a focus on homelessness, prioritizing temporary housing with mandatory behavioral treatment and curfews for residents. The program was criticized for not reducing the homeless population. As governor, he oversaw the opening of the Second Avenue Subway extension, Moynihan Train Hall and LaGuardia’s makeover. He also signed the 2019 Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act, which has helped push scores of landlords of rent-stabilized buildings into distress — although he did express regret for not pushing for changes to the law in a meeting with REBNY's board, Politico reported.

Real Estate Promises: Tackling housing affordability was the first promise Cuomo made when he jumped into the mayoral race in March. Cuomo is promising to build or preserve 500,000 housing units, saying in the most recent debate: “Building housing is not that hard. It’s just competence.”

He wants to partner with faith-based organizations to build on their underutilized land, create housing for middle-class incomes, accelerate opportunities for targeted rezonings to create more housing, add enforcement and incentives to bring warehoused apartments back online and create a $5B state-city capital subsidies program. He also wants to enforce Good Cause Eviction and protect tenants’ right to counsel in housing court, improve housing voucher programs’ efficiencies and cut the red tape in the city’s housing agencies so that developers can complete new buildings and renovations faster.

Industry Donors: A&E Real Estate Management’s Donald Hastings, Greystone’s Aaron Jaffee, Charney Cos.’ Samuel Charney, Shvo’s Michael and Seren Shvo, Katz Realty Group’s Lennard Katz and Argo Real Estate’s Mark Moskowitz each donated $2,100. RXR’s Adam Greene, Olmstead Properties’ Samuel Rosenblatt, StacomCRE’s Darcy Stacom and Rockrose Development’s Justin Elghanayan donated $1,000. Newmark’s Daniel Fromm and Leslie Harwood and Rosewood Realty Group’s David Wildes donated $500. 

A number of PACs with industry connections have each donated the maximum $2,100 to Cuomo’s campaign, including 1199 SEIU NYS PAC; 32BJ United ADF, Bricklayers & Allied Craftwork, Building & Construction Trades PAC, Building For New Yorkers PAC, Greenberg Traurig PAC and the NYC District Council of Carpenters PAC.

There’s also the pro-Cuomo IE, Fix The City. Among its donors are: former Mayor Michael Bloomberg with $5M, DoorDash with $1M, and Bill Ackman, who has donated $750K since January. RXR’s Scott Rechler, Empire State Realty Trust’s Tony Malkin, Vornado’s Stephen Roth, A&E Real Estate's Doug Eisenberg, Gotham Asset Management’s Joel Greenblatt, Seaport Entertainment Group, Fisher Brothers and RFR Holding all contributed $100K or more.

Endorsements: Cuomo has almost two dozen unions in his corner, including powerhouses like the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU and the Building & Construction Trades Council. He’s also received endorsements from former Gov. David Paterson and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Zohran Mamdani

Résumé: New York State Assemblyman for District 36 in Queens since 2021 and a member of 10 committees and task forces, including the Committee on Cities and Committee on Real Property Taxation.

Record: Mamdani has sponsored several real estate-related bills, including legislation to facilitate residential development on religious land and the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, which would provide tenants the first right to purchase their rental properties when an owner intends to sell. He’s also pushed to expand local governments' ability to declare housing emergencies and regulate residential rents as well as advocated for the creation of the New York State Social Housing Development Authority, which would be able to acquire, rehabilitate and construct housing.

Mamdani is a vocal supporter of congestion pricing and previously introduced a package of bills dubbed Fix the MTA to increase funding and created five free bus routes through a pilot program. He participated in a 15-day hunger strike to restructure taxi medallion loans and create a debt relief program for drivers. 

Real Estate Promises: Mamdani’s campaign has revolved around promises of a rent freeze for stabilized apartments. Additionally, he plans to use public dollars to construct 200,000 units of permanently affordable, union-built, rent-stabilized housing over the next 10 years. To achieve that, Mamdani is proposing New York borrow $70B over the next decade, in addition to the $25B the city has allocated in its 10-year capital plan. He has also said that he would fast-track any fully affordable developments by increasing staffing levels at the city’s housing agencies. Additionally, he has promised to increase density near transit hubs and end requirements for developers to build parking.

Mamdani also said he plans to crack down on bad landlords with a revamped 311 complaint system and increased enforcement on owners failing to make repairs. In cases of consistent neglect, Mamdani said the city would step in and seize their properties. Lastly, he plans to create an Office of Deed Theft Prevention, help homeowners comply with Local Law 97 and end the recently restarted tax lien sale.

Industry Donors: While Mamdani hasn't received the financial backing of real estate-backed PACs nor substantial donations from executives in the industry, he was the first candidate to reach the maximum funding limit for the June primary. He has received approximately $1.7M in private and $6.7M in public funds, according to the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Roughly 20,000 contributors have donated to his campaign, far more than his competitors, with an average contribution size of $82. 

Endorsements: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and City Council Member Chi Ossé, who introduced the broker fee ban. Mamdani cross-endorsed Lander and former state Rep. Michael Blake. Attorney General Letitia James and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who puts out the worst landlords list, both ranked him third.

Groups backing Mamdani's candidacy include the New York Working Families Party, the New York City Democratic Socialists of America, Tenants PAC, New York State Tenant Bloc, Streets PAC, Churches United For Fair Housing and several labor unions, including District Council 37, United Auto Workers Region 9A, Teamsters Local 804, Unite Here Local 100 and the City University of New York’s Professional Staff Congress.

Brad Lander

Résumé: Lander served as city council member for the 39th District in Brooklyn from 2010 to 2021 and has served as comptroller since 2022.

Record: Lander was the council member for Gowanus at the time of its rezoning, which has led to thousands of new housing units in the area. As comptroller, his office analyzed 18 years of capital planning to cut down on wasted city dollars during construction and infrastructure projects and has fined developers and contractors that failed to pay prevailing wages to workers on projects receiving tax incentives.

Real Estate Promises: Lander wants to declare a housing crisis on day one if elected and supports building 500,00 homes across the five boroughs, including land under foreclosed hotels, on city-owned and NYC Housing Authority lots. Among the city-owned sites he would target — funded by not-for-profit land banks — are 12 golf courses, which he believes could yield 50,000 supportive housing units. He supports a one-year rent freeze and wants to use a “housing first” model to alleviate the city’s increasing number of homeless residents. His housing plan is designed to create affordable and supportive housing with less reliance on federal support.

Industry Donors: Coldwell Banker's Bonnie Chajet and Millennium Partners’ Philip Lovett donated $2,100, Jonathan Rose Cos.' Andrew Foley donated $250 and Brooklyn Navy Yard’s Matt Harrison donated $100 to Lander's campaign

Endorsements: Cross-endorsed by Mamdani, United Auto Workers Region 9A, PSC-CUNY, Teamsters Local 804, NYNJ Regional Joint Board, IATSE 161, Unite Here Local 100, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association, Bikeshare Transport Workers Union Of America Local 320, SEIU Healthcare Committee of Interns and Residents, Make The Road Action, NYC Organization of Public Service Retirees, Citizens Union.

Adrienne Adams

Résumé: A corporate trainer at Fortune 500 companies, Adams won election to city council for District 28 in Southeast Queens in 2017. She was reelected in 2019 and has been city council speaker since 2021.

Record: As a first-term council member, Adams pushed for increased oversight of the NYPD. Last year as speaker, she shepherded the council through the citywide rezoning hearings for City of Yes after introducing tweaks to the mayor's proposal. She also led ongoing efforts to sue Adams over his refusal to implement the laws reducing eligibility barriers for CityFHEPS housing vouchers.

Real Estate Promises: She’s talked about the need to build all types of housing, including deeply affordable units. She proposed budgeting $500M for NYCHA repairs and wants to see at least $4B in annual capital funding for housing. She also wants to incentivize rent-stabilized owners to restore dilapidated units without compromising on tenant protections established in the state’s 2019 HSTPA. She said that any rent freeze should last less than a year.

Industry Donors: Adams entered the race later than most of the contenders, announcing her candidacy in early March and only raising enough to qualify for matching funding at the end of May. She previously received campaign funding from PACs run by REBNY and the Rent Stabilization Association —  now the New York Apartment Association — although her campaign returned REBNY’s cash. Campaign finance records unearthed a few donations from real estate industry names: Daniel Brodsky, Two Trees’ Jed Walentas and Taconic Partners’ Paul Pariser and Andy Zlotnick each donated $400. Queens developer Eric Benaim and GFP Real Estate's Jeff Gural donated $250.

Competent New York, the IE supporting Adams’ campaign, has spent $286,800 on campaign communications, although it hasn't disclosed its donations. The City reported that more than half of the IE's funding came from DoorDash.

Endorsements: Faith-based affordable housing advocacy group CUFFH, Communication Workers of America Local 1180, PSY-CUNY, Unite Here Local 100, Make The Road Action New York, Downtown Women for Change.

Scott Stringer

Résumé: Served as assemblyman for District 67 for six terms starting in 1993 before being elected Manhattan borough president in 2005. Served as BP until 2013, when he was elected comptroller. Ran for mayor in 2021 before his campaign was derailed by sexual misconduct allegations.

Record: Scrutinized NYCHA as comptroller over door maintenance and heat failures, highlighted city payments to contractors that owed millions in taxes and endorsed the Midtown East Rezoning proposal in 2013.

Real Estate Promises: Stringer wants to turn city-owned vacant lots and underutilized properties into affordable housing. He also wants to take “neglected properties from irresponsible landlords” and turn those into affordable housing. His campaign pledges to secure $40B for NYCHA, as well as establishing a $500M fund for minority- and/or women-owned business enterprise and nonprofit developers building “community-focused housing”. He supports a one-year rent freeze.

Industry Donors: Sherwood Equities’ Jeffrey Katz, Merchants Capital Matthew Wambua and The Benjamin Cos. Kenneth P. Coyle III donated $2,100 each, Bond New York’s Doug Wagner donated $250 and TerraCRG’s Matt Cosentino donated $100.

Endorsements: West Side Democrats, Downtown Independent Democrats, Lexington Democratic Club, Grand Street Democrats, StreetsPAC, Riders Alliance, The Organization of Staff Analysts, NYC Public Service Retirees, PLACE NYC.