New York City's real estate developers are under fire, according to Politico. Politicians have condemned them by refusing to accept donations to their campaigns. from the developers. The NYC real estate market is currently under crisis and it is one of the reasons why politicians are distancing themselves from it. Democrat senators have led the way in doing this.
George Arzt, a political consultant, had said that it was the first time real estate money had been pinpointed as a 'cause' by politicians after being rejected. He had been a staunch observer of New York politics, often knowing when it is shifting and is also a representative for some property developers.
The problems began when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Council Speaker Corey Johnson setting the trend. Following the example of Ocasio-Cortez, speaker Johnson said that he would 'refuse' support from real estate developers or anyone connected to them in his mayoralty bid. He's not the first politician to do so, with the list included Council member Jumaane Williams, Senator Julia Salazar, Senate majority leader Michael Gianaris, and ex-attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout, all from NYC.
In fact, the Real Deal reported this could represent a 'new world order' in the world of real estate. With Rep. Ocasio-Cortez leading the way, it sets a precedent for other politicians to reject help from the real estate sector. Additional names to the list included Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, both of whom didn't attend the annual Real Estate Board of New York gala.
A real estate executive, under guarantee of anonymity, had come out to say that in politics, it's one of the first and foremost problems--finger-pointing had become the norm. Trump had started the trend when he blamed immigrants. Politicians are only following his example, in turn blaming real estate for perceived 'evils.'
REBNY president John Banks downplayed the absence of Cuomo and de Blasio, saying that it was 'really meaningless.' The staffers of both politicians made an appearance in the gala. Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer was also present, eliciting a 'huge round of applause' from those present that night.
Real estate represented an easy target, mainly because it had gone out of control in the New York territory. People are still adjusting to what had been skyrocketing prices predicted to flatten out to affordable levels, but that's still a long way off. It had made real estate shift from an entity with political clout to one that's being blamed for everything currently wrong.
