Developers continue to be among top Cuomo donors

Two LLCs tied to Durst donated $100K in past 6 months

From left: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Douglas Durst and Scott Rechler
From left: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Douglas Durst and Scott Rechler

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has raised a total of $3.99 million in the last six months, and developers continue to be among Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s biggest donors. One of the largest contributions to the governor’s re-election war chest this year comes from LLCs linked to the Durst Organization.

Two LLCs connected to Durst each donated $50,000 on July 11, bringing their total since 2015 to $200,000 — a sum that makes the donors the second-largest in this cycle so far, Politico reported. RXR Realty’s [TRData] Scott Rechler gave $50,000 on July 11 and two LLCs linked to SL Green Realty each wrote $25,000 checks, according to the latest filings with the state Board of Elections.

The largest donor so far is Kiryas Joel Builder Mayer Hirsch, who hasn’t contributed in the last sixth months but has given a total of $250,000 to Cuomo this cycle. Kiryas Joel, a growing Hasidic community in Orange County, has been battling with neighboring municipalities and legislators over its plan to annex over 500 acres of land, which Cuomo in the past has described as unconstitutional.

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The governor has mostly relied on big donors for his potential re-election campaign, with 44 percent of the $14 million raised coming from donors who have each contributed more than $44,000 since 2015. Roughly 85 percent of his funds were contributed by donors who gave more than $10,000.

Cuomo has long had strong ties with real estate. In his first term, most of his biggest donors came from the real estate industry. [Politico] — Kathryn Brenzel