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Guess who’s coming to dinner? De Blasio dined with John Banks and Steve Roth in May

Vornado bid on Penn Station redevelopment

From left: Mayor Bill de Blasio, Steve Roth and John Banks
From left: Mayor Bill de Blasio, Steve Roth and John Banks

Who picked up the tab? Mayor Bill de Blasio had separate dinner dates with REBNY president John Banks and Vornado Realty Trust’s CEO Steven Roth, according to recently-released public schedules cited by Politico.

On May 6, de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray met with Roth and his wife Daryl Roth, a Broadway producer. Vornado is currently developing a luxury condo tower at 220 Central Park South and is one of the firms that bid to re-develop Penn Station and the James Farley post office building.

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On May 26, de Blasio and Banks met for a 90-minute dinner conversation at Gracie Mansion. Politico speculates that the pair likely talked about the expired 421-a tax abatement program for rental development. At the time, Banks was lobbying state lawmakers to fine short-term rental site Airbnb over illegal listings.

De Blasio has repeatedly sought out face-to-face meetings with real estate leaders since he assumed office and reportedly has several friends in the industry – including Banks, Tishman Speyer’s [TRData] Rob Speyer, Forest City Ratner Companies’ Bruce Ratner and Hudson Companies’ David Kramer.
[Politico] – Konrad Putzier

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Bill De BlasioJohn BanksSteven Roth