Powerful lobbyist made $250K pushing for deed changes

Well-connected lobbyist James Capalino made more than $250,000 in the past two years pushing for deed changes at three New York properties, according to a report. That’s on top of his involvement in Rivington House, where a deed change allowed the building’s conversion into luxury condos and recently triggered an Attorney General investigation into the de Blasio administration.

According to DNAinfo, Fosun International paid Capalino $120,000 since January 2015 to help secure a deed change for the landmarked skyscraper 28 Liberty Street, but ditched his services because of his involvement in the Rivington House scandal. Fosun is seeking a deed change to alter the public plaza and build ground-level retail space. The planned modifications won landmarks approval in August, but the deed change has yet to win approval from the department of citywide administrative services (DCAS).

Capalino also lobbied City Hall to extend an expired deadline for construction to begin at two industrial buildings at 32-22 College Point Boulevard and 125-12 31st Avenue in Queens, on behalf of developer Miriam Chan. And he tried in vain to lift deed restrictions on a transitional shelter at 347 East 10th Street in Manhattan, DNAinfo reports. [DNAinfo] – Konrad Putzier