New York City-based real estate companies have increased their Washington lobbying expenditures by more than a quarter this year, as the industry battles a severe downturn and Congress considers a raft of transformative legislation, federal data shows. Eleven city-based firms such as Tishman Speyer Properties, Forest City Ratner and Arverne East Development, together spent a total of $655,000 in the first six months of the year, compared with $510,000 in the same period a year ago, an increase of 28 percent, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of public lobbying records released this month. The companies made the lobbying expenditures for a variety of reasons, including monitoring transportation, economic development and tax issues. The quarterly reports are filed with the Senate Office of Public Records by the lobbying firms to show how much they have been paid by their clients and for what purpose. [more]