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New York

Nonunion construction lobbyists plan to raise funds for Cuomo

Gotham Government Relations works with several embattled developers

Brad Gerstman David Schwartz Andrew Cuomo
Brad Gerstman, David Schwartz and Gov. Andrew Cuomo

The principals of Gotham Government Relations, a lobbying firm supporting the cause of nonunion construction, will hold a fundraising event for Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 7.

Brad Gerstman and David Schwartz, founding partners at Gotham, will oversee the event, which will take place in Roslyn, on Long Island, and will feature Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul. It’s unknown whether Cuomo himself will attend.

Gotham has worked with such developers as the Friedman Group and the Landis Group, which are developing a 25-story, 170,000-square-foot hotel at 577 Ninth Avenue. A worker at that site was killed after falling four stories earlier this year.

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Gerstman, a lawyer, also recently worked with the Rinaldi Group, which had its contractor license pulled by the Department of Buildings last month.

He was also involved in BuildingNYC, an advocacy group agitating against union construction.

“[T]hose who have lived off the fat of the land are desperate to protect their eroding privileges — at the expense of minority and immigrant workers, and the hopes of New Yorkers for more affordable housing,” he said in a statement from the group. “BNYC is here to make sure that tens of thousands of upwardly striving workers are not threatened by despicable slander and political cronyism.”

Entry to the fundraiser will cost guests $500, or $5,000 if they wanted to be listed as a “co-host.” [Politico] – Ariel Stulberg

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Andrew CuomoLobbying