REBNY quadruples donations to Democrats ahead of elections

The industry group gave them $236,750 this cycle, up from $57,000 in the 2016 elections

REBNY President John Banks and New York State Capitol in Albany (Credit: Albany)
REBNY President John Banks and New York State Capitol in Albany (Credit: Albany)

The Real Estate Board of New York has ramped up its support for state Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, while decreasing contributions to Republicans.

Rent regulations are top of mind in the legislature this cycle, as Democrats that have campaigned to support tenants ousted six of eight incumbent Independent Democratic Conference members, who were accused of lining up with Republicans to support landlords.

Through its political action committee, REBNY has contributed $236,750 this year to Democrats, up from $57,000 in the 2016 cycle, according to the Wall Street Journal. While that increased, its donations to Republican committees dipped, but still remained higher, at $372,850, compared to $485,200 in 2016.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

“Nothing is so black and white that we would say we’re one way or another,” REBNY’s president John Banks told the outlet. “Obviously if this blue wave is what it is, we’ll have to build new relationships with new legislators and we look forward to doing that.”

In addition to the base contributions, the group also reportedly gave $92,500 the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, which had not received any contributions in the last cycle.

It’s estimated that 150,000 apartments in New York City have left stabilization since 1994, and a number of progressive Democrats are pushing to eliminate the practice of vacancy decontrol. [WSJ] — David Jeans