Landlord and homeowner groups are steeling themselves for a new reality in Albany.
Candidates equipped with endorsements from the Democratic Socialists of America, Working Families Party, Mayor Zohran Mamdani or all three dominated primary contests across the city, largely without taking direct contributions from real estate-linked donors and PACs. Promising to focus on affordable housing across the board, the left-leaning slate of fresh faces is on a collision course with developer, broker and landlord groups that historically held sway over legislative priorities.
“The socialists have made no apologies on their positions when it comes to housing,” Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association and former Assembly member, said. “When that caucus continues to grow, it’s concerning because this is going to impact the housing that our owners operate, but also the tenants that live within it.”
The self-identified democratic socialists likely headed to Albany include David Orkin, who beat incumbent and real estate favorite Jennifer Rajkumar for her Queens district assembly seat and Eon Huntley, who unseated Stefani Zinerman despite strong contributions to her campaign by developers, both directly and through the Moving Brooklyn Forward PAC. (You can read our coverage of the races here.)
On the congressional slate, WFP-backed Brad Lander defeated incumbent Dan Goldman to represent parts of Brownstone Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan. DSA endorsements landed when Darializa Avila Chevallier edged out incumbent Adriano Espaillat to represent a swath of Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood and neighborhoods in the Bronx, along with Claire Valdez beating Antonio Reynoso, the chosen successor of retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez, to represent parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
Still, the subset of democratic socialists poised to take office in Albany comprises a small fraction of the state legislature’s total voting body, Burgos pointed out.
Others focused on housing policy like Andrew Scherer, professor and co-director of the Housing Justice Leadership Institute at New York Law School, see the primary wins as a catalyst for action amid long-running Albany debates.
“There’s been an incredible sweep towards the left, which I think portends well for housing policy in general,” Scherer said. “People who identify themselves as democratic socialists tend to be very thoughtful and sympathetic to the idea that we should be moving towards a right to housing, and you can hear that in the rhetoric.”
Some small building landlords are sad to see incumbents lose state legislature seats, politicians they’ve spoken to about housing issues over the years.
“There are elected officials who understand the realities of housing and are willing to engage honestly with us as owners, and unfortunately we just lost a few of them,” said Eric Dillenberger, director of Small Property Owners of New York. “There are people that we will miss and there are people that we are less than thrilled to have to negotiate with, but those are the realities of politics.”
The sea-change signaled by yesterday’s primary has left landlords to contemplate the vicissitudes of political life, but resolved to continue advocating for policy priorities and willing to work with lawmakers considered antagonists during the campaign.
“There was a time when the tenants themselves and the socialists felt like they were in the wilderness, that there wasn’t a path forward for them. The arc of history in New York politics is a pendulum, it swings back and forth.” Dillenberger said. “We all exist in the same ecosystem, and it’s distressing that we have this in our society. We should not be divided, we should understand that housing has a cost to provide, and regulated rents can’t be under the cost of providing the service.”
— Ben Miller
What we’re thinking about: Which of yesterday’s primary winners was the biggest surprise and why? Send a note to ben.miller@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: As New York City officials ask a federal judge to ban a food delivery app for underpaying its drivers, one South Korean food delivery app has no drivers. The app has all the trappings of a normal food delivery app — allowing users to browse menus, place orders and even track a delivery driver on a simulated map. The catch? The food never actually arrives. The app, called FoodNeverComes, is part of a growing trend of South Korean “dopamine sites” that sell digital anticipation rather than an actual product.
— Spencer Davis
Elsewhere:
— The Economic Development Corporation is searching for an industry partner to privately run a city-backed insurance program to drive down the cost of property and liability insurance for rent-stabilized buildings, The City Reporter reported. The EDC plans to invest up to $100 million over three years to launch the program, which will roll out in 2027 for about 20,000 apartments and expand to 100,000 apartments by 2030.
— The Mamdani administration plans to put $15 million behind a new initiative to help NYCHA residents fix long-standing issues with their public housing units, according to City Limits. The Critical Repairs Initiative will expand NYCHA’s Ombudsperson Call Center, which currently serves residents experiencing mold or leaks, to fix more critical problems with their units.
— The FBI and NYPD searched the homes of current and former high-ranking NYPD officials on Wednesday as part of a corruption investigation into Jeffrey Maddrey, the NYPD’s chief of department under former Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Times reported. (Brooklyn power broker Frank Carone, Adams’ former chief of staff, was also arrested on federal bribery charges earlier that day as part of an unrelated investigation.)
— Spencer Davis
Closing time
Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Wednesday was $33.5 million for PH AB at 875 Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side.
Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $58.2 million for the 47,000-square-foot property at 157-19th Avenue in Flushing. Strauss Ventures sold the property to CareRite Centers.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $70 million for a 10,875-square-foot condominium at Residences at the Ritz-Carlton, 50 Central Park South. Deborah Grubman, David M Adler, Paul Albano and Jeremy Ritz-Totten with Corcoran have the listing. The property last sold for $70 million in 2012. The property is owned by Steve Wynn.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 17,017-square-foot, 33-unit project at 576 Prospect Avenue in Longwood. Navkiran Cheema filed the permit on behalf of Shmili Frenkel.
— Matthew Elo