Attorney General and likely gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo has been netting huge contributions from major real estate interests — a group that some allege Cuomo's office has been hesitant to prosecute. Over the past three years, Cuomo has bolstered his substantial warchest by $18 million with money from land holders and developers including Stuyvesant Town defaulters Tishman Speyer, Atlantic Yards planner Bruce Ratner, and embattled builder Shaya Boymelgreen. But some say he's been less than responsive when faced with complaints against real estate interests.
According to the Times, the real estate industry has opened its wallets to Cuomo, giving the likely candidate one dollar out of every five that he's brought in during the past six months despite the fact that the real estate market is in shambles. But some property buyers allege that Cuomo's office has ignored complaints about residences that don't live up to builders' promises. In one instance, Cuomo's office refused to get involved in a case over a Prospect Heights building developed by Boymelgreen, who had donated $8,000 to his campaign (Cuomo returned that money after the Times brought it up). "Any suggestion that members of the real estate industry exert improper influence over this office's real estate finance unit is laughable and belied by the facts," said spokesman John Milgrim. "The bureau is staffed with professionals of the highest caliber and integrity, and the bureau itself is a model for other regulators."
In his defense, Cuomo just launched a suit against a Manhattan and Queens landlord accused of harassing hundreds of rent-regulated tenants in an effort to replace them with higher-paying renters. The Times reports that Vantage Properties is accused of regularly filing eviction notices that were really "deceptive and misleading representations" intended to scare away rent-regulated tenants. "Landlords who illegally harass tenants to boost their bottom line do great harm to the fabric of the city," said Cuomo.
