Michael Blake says real estate doesn’t have to vote for Andrew Cuomo.
In an interview Friday, just four days until the Democratic primary, Blake told me that the industry is looking for a “responsible person they can work with,” and believes he is that person. It is a tough sell, given that the industry has poured millions of dollars into Cuomo-tied super PACs. Not to mention that Blake and Assembly member Zohran Mamdani have cross-endorsed each other.
Blake served on the state Assembly, representing the South Bronx from 2014 to 2020, and was a campaign and White House aide to President Barack Obama between 2007 and 2013. He is also CEO of the political advisory firm Atlas Strategy Group.
His housing plan calls for building 600,000 units over the next decade and reserving a portion of new construction for veterans, recent college graduates and native New Yorkers who have been priced out of the city. He also wants to change the metric the city uses to set affordability rates for housing units and to bar the use of credit scores when considering prospective tenants.
I am posing the same five questions to all mayoral contenders, as part of a question-and-answer series that will run in this newsletter. The first featured Sen. Zellnor Myrie, followed by Comptroller Brad Lander, Scott Stringer, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Assembly member Zohran Mamdani.
The five questions in this series are meant to be a vibe check, of sorts, on how candidates think about the real estate industry and its place in the political ecosystem of New York.
What is your most innovative housing idea?
We need to end using credit scores for rent and homeownership applications, while simultaneously increasing income limits for housing applications and having a local median income, because area median income is not working.
That trifecta gives us the opportunity for true affordable housing. We have to build housing so we have enough supply for the demand. I have said we need to have at least 600,000 affordable housing units within the next 10 years, at a minimum.
What do you think is missing from your opponents’ housing plans?
They’re not saying any of those things. I’m the only one saying that we’ve got to end using credit scores. I’m the only one saying we have to increase the limits. I’m the only one that has been saying you need to have a local median income to be intentional around that approach. We’re all talking about the need to build, you have to build more. But to me it’s: How do you build? How do you ensure affordability?
How would you describe the real estate industry’s role in shaping policy in New York?
It’s been quite significant. We can’t ignore that. From the political action committees to just the presence they have — not just donors, but voice — you can’t ignore the impact that they’re having. You have to build, right? That is how we live. That is how we have commercial properties. That is how this all happens. But I want to be intentional that we are building affordably while also protecting the integrity of our communities. You can have more units, you can have more demand, but you can have more affordability. Too often, because of the dollar impact that they have, and the ability to drive a message through their fundraising, their voice has been greater, in terms of multiplier effect, than the voters. But you have to actually shift the conversation significantly to tell the story of how real estate has been relevant, but they are not the only voice in the conversation.
Where do you stand on accepting donations from the industry?
I’m fine with that because I think you have to assess everything that you take in and do it responsibly. I don’t think you take from every single person, but I don’t think it’s responsible to just blanketly say no to the entire entity, because how is it being defined? Are you saying that someone is big real estate? Small real estate? Property owner, small property owner? I just think that at the end of the day, we have to be more reasonable in our considerations and not penalize someone for doing well financially. If they’re doing well, and they’re contributing [to the] community, and they have the right ethos, yes, I would welcome their support. At the end of the day, in order to have affordable housing, in order for us to address the commercial needs of our community, you have to do it with responsible developers.
Why should folks in the real estate industry vote for you?
Because I’m the only one who has White House experience [with] President Obama, state house experience and local experience. I do not think that real estate is thinking that there’s only one option. It is my responsibility to say, if you are looking for a voice, someone who can actually show you a plan that is responsible, where everyone can win, where you can make money and make affordability, then I’m saying that Michael Blake is actually your choice, not Andrew Cuomo.
What we’re thinking about: What City Council races are you watching closely? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Some lawmakers wanted to carve out specific districts from the Faith-Based Affordable Housing Act, which would make it easier for religious organizations to build affordable housing on their property. The bill did not come to a vote before the end of the legislative session.
Elsewhere in New York…
— The state’s highest court upheld a 15 percent rent reduction and a vacancy survey that allowed Kingston, N.Y., to adopt rent stabilization, City & State reports. The Court of Appeals rejected claims by the Hudson Valley Property Owners Association that Kingston’s declaration of a housing emergency should be annulled because the vacancy survey was flawed.
— ICE agents conducted an “operation” in Beacon, N.Y., without alerting local police, the Times Union reports. An unnamed business owner notified the city of agent activity on North Elm Street on Friday. “I want to make clear that at no time leading up to this incident did city staff, including our police department, have any notice of or involvement in ICE operations,” Mayor Lee Kyriacou said in a statement. “As a city, we remain committed to our safe, inclusive community policy, to preserving rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, and to avoiding any policies which engender fear among law-abiding families.”
— City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams wouldn’t reveal who else she ranked when she voted for herself for mayor on Thursday, Politico New York reports. At first, she refused to endorse any of the other candidates, but reversed course on Friday, saying that New Yorkers should rank the slate of candidates endorsed by the Working Families Party. She didn’t specify an order.
Closing Time
Residential: The top residential deal recorded Friday was $11 million at 111 West 57th Street. The Midtown condo unit is 4,500 square feet. Sotheby’s International Realty’s Nikki Field Team has the listing.
Commercial: The top commercial deal recorded was $30 million for 540 Broadway. The Soho building is mixed-use and has 21 residential units. It’s five stories and 25,000 square feet.
New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $17 million for a penthouse unit at 200 East 95th Street, known as The Kent. The condo is 5,200 square feet and is listed by developer Extell.
Breaking Ground: The largest new building application filed was for a proposed 64,966-square-foot, eight-story, mixed-use building at 240 Highland Place in Brooklyn. DJLU Architects is the applicant of record.
— Joseph Jungermann