A federal investigation into Bill de Blasio’s fundraising activities also shines a spotlight on the mayor’s many financial backers in the real estate industry. On Wednesday, The Real Deal reporter Konrad Putzier spoke to NY1 about de Blasio’s cozy ties to real estate developers.“The real estate industry is the single most important industry for Bill de Blasio when it comes to fundraising,” Putzier told NY1 reporter Bobby Cuza. “There’s no question about it.”
As TRD reported, developers were among the top donors to the Campaign for One New York – a fund the mayor launched to support his policy agenda. Federal authorities are now investigating the fund, along with other activities, to determine if de Blasio used it to evade campaign contribution limits. De Blasio has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Just because many in the industry have supported the mayor financially doesn’t mean they are necessarily on board with his policies.
One example, according to Putzier, is Two Trees Development. The company had a public spat with the de Blasio administration over the conditions of a rezoning of the Domino Sugar factory site in Williamsburg. The parties eventually reached an agreement – and a limited liability company tied to the development made a hefty donation to de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York.
“(David Walentas) was quoted as saying that de Blasio is a disaster for the city, he compared his administration to North Korea and lo and behold, a couple of months later an LLC with ties to his company gave 100,000 bucks to de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York,” Putzier explained. [NY1] — TRD