Hochul Reels in Campaign Cash from Top Real Estate Names

No shortage of major real estate players have poured cash into Gov. Kathy Hochul’s campaign fund this year.

Many gave the top dollar amount allowed from an individual — $18,000 — an analysis by The Real Deal found.

The Democratic governor has staked out a position as a political moderate and made clear she will fight for some of real estate’s top priorities, including tax breaks like 421a and J-51. That helps explain her support from the industry.

But giving money to the state’s top executive — who holds one of the nation’s most powerful governorships — is part of the business community’s standard playbook. And Hochul’s election last fall earned her a four-year term.

The Rudin family was Gov. Hochul’s most generous real estate donor, with five members handing her campaign a total of $90,000.

Rudin Management owns 33 properties in New York City including 17 residential buildings totaling 4.7 million square feet and 16 office buildings totaling 10.5 million square feet, according to its website.

Hochul’s second biggest haul from real estate came from a quartet of $36,000 gifts.

One was from the Catsimatidis family, whose Red Apple Group operates in the real estate and supermarket industries, among others.

Another came from members of the Elghanayan family, who split their assets in 2009 between Rockrose and TF Cornerstone.

Another donation of $36,000 came from billionaire investor and IBE trade group head Alexander Rovt and his wife, Olga.

The Steiners of Steiner Equities Group, a development management and leasing firm based in Roseland, New Jersey, also gave Hochul $36,000.

Others who already maxed out their donations to Hochul at $18,000 included Scott Rechler of RXR Realty, Jeff Blau of Related Companies (whose wife also maxed out), and as reported by City and State, Wendy and Douglas Eisenberg of A&E Real Estate.

The Durst Organization and six of the Dursts themselves also gave a combined $14,500, but none came close to maxing out.

While many of Hochul’s largest industry donations came from real estate families, other support flowed in from individual property investors.

In the past six months, Hochul received individual donations of $18,000 each from at least six unrelated (by blood) real estate players, including Jeff Levine of the Douglaston Companies, Aby Rosen of RFR Holding and Gary Barnett of Extell Development.

Other $18,000 donors included Daniel Tishman of Tishman Realty and Construction, and SL Green Realty CEO Marc Holliday and co-chair Stephen Green. The latter two each contributed the maximum $2,100 to Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election campaign.

Hochul’s proposed Housing Compact, unveiled in January, was cheered by real estate firms because it aimed to add 800,000 homes to the state over a decade, without mandates for affordable housing or prevailing wages for construction workers. It also included an alternative path for residential projects blocked by localities. But the legislature declined to pass it.