Related CEO Jeff Blau Tries To Rally Execs Behind Cuomo, Push Adams To Drop Out
Some of the biggest developers in New York City are trying to persuade Mayor Eric Adams to drop his reelection campaign in the hopes that voters will coalesce behind former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's independent bid to defeat Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.
The real estate community has historically had a friendly relationship with Adams, but they now appear to be pivoting to Cuomo as the higher-polling candidate of the two in an attempt to avoid splitting non-Mamdani votes.
Related CEO Jeff Blau sent an email to his circle of real estate executives and business associates on Monday, inviting them to a Tuesday morning meeting in Midtown at the Seagram Building's exclusive event space, the Pool Room, The New York Times reported.
“Sorry for the late notice, but there is no more time for delay, discussion or dithering — we must act decisively to ensure that the next mayor of New York is Andrew Cuomo,” Blau wrote, according to the Times. “The only viable candidate with the experience, support and gravitas to defeat Zohran Mamdani is Governor Andrew Cuomo.”
Other signatories on the email included RFR’s Aby Rosen, who owns the Seagram Building and declined to comment to Bisnow. Laurie Tisch, a billionaire philanthropist, and hedge fund billionaire Gregg Hymowitz were also among the business leaders who signed the email.
Cuomo also attended the meeting, as did Marc Altheim, who previously founded what was once one of NYC's busiest affordable housing developers, Atlantic Development Group.
“I’m very concerned that New York City is going to be decimated if the other guy takes office,” Altheim told the Times. “Eric Adams has got to leave the race.”
The Related Cos. approached Adams about a potential job in the firm’s global security division, the New York Daily News reported. The job would come with a seven-figure salary, a source told the Daily News.
A Related spokesperson denied the report.
“Related has never offered Mayor Eric Adams employment or any position — paid or unpaid — at any point in time, and has no intention of doing so,” a Related spokesperson told Bisnow in a statement. “Reports to the contrary are categorically false.”
The alleged offer from Related is the second such opportunity that the current NYC mayor has reportedly fielded within a week. President Donald Trump was considering offering Adams an ambassadorship to Saudi Arabia, Politico reported Friday, although Adams announced late on Friday afternoon that he intends to stay in the race.
The impetus in the business community and from Trump — a Queens native whose family fortune has come largely from New York real estate — comes from a desire to beat Mamdani, who is aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America and defeated Cuomo in a landslide upset in the June Democratic primary.
Mamdani campaigned on freezing rents in the city's million rent-stabilized units, developing thousands of units of public housing and raising taxes on the wealthy, all policies viewed negatively by the business and real estate community.
But some in the industry have already accepted a Mamdani victory as inevitable, The Wall Street Journal reported. The state assembly member is ahead of Cuomo by 22 points, according to a New York Times/Siena poll released Tuesday, while Republican Curtis Sliwa is in third place and Adams is a distant fourth.
Landlord lobbying group the New York Apartment Association has been in contact with Mamdani's campaign to discuss reforms to the city's property tax system. Meanwhile, influential business advocacy group the Partnership for New York City has been setting up conversations between Mamdani and other high-powered executives to find a middle ground on policy.
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
