New York’s Business Elite Mobilizes Against Zohran Mamdani

By: Andrew Carlson

In the bare-knuckled world of New York City real estate, where competitors often reserve their sharpest words for one another, a rare consensus has emerged among the city’s most powerful developers. As The New York Times reported on Wednesday, executives from some of the largest property firms gathered privately to discuss what they see as their most urgent political priority: stopping Zohran Mamdani, the 33-year-old Democratic mayoral candidate whose stunning primary victory has sent shockwaves through the city’s business establishment.

“Our goal is anybody but Mamdani,” wrote Marty Burger, the chief executive of Infinite Global Real Estate Partners, in an email obtained by The New York Times. The message, sent to peers ahead of the meeting, outlined a plan to raise money for a new super PAC called New Yorkers for a Better Future. Burger suggested each participant contribute $25,000 to seed the organization, which could fund attack ads against Mamdani, bolster rival candidates, and register thousands of voters who might otherwise sit out the election.

The urgency reflects a profound anxiety across corporate New York, which now confronts the prospect of a self-described socialist who has called for higher taxes on the wealthy and corporations, and who previously supported efforts to defund the police—a position he has since walked back. With fewer than 100 days before the general election, business leaders are rushing to assemble the kind of outside spending machinery that could tilt the balance.

According to the information provided in The New York Times report, at least five separate groups have already emerged, each competing to channel tens of millions of dollars into anti-Mamdani efforts.

New Yorkers for a Better Future, promoted by Burger and co-hosted by financier Ricky Sandler, has quickly become the most prominent vehicle, with Sandler personally pledging $500,000.

A separate group led by former lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey has been soliciting donors at $1,000 per head. “Fighting Mamdani is expensive,” McCaughey warned in invitations obtained by The New York Times. “But allowing him to win will cost you more.”

Fix the City, the super PAC that spent $22 million backing Andrew Cuomo’s failed primary bid, is pivoting into an anti-Mamdani force aligned with the former governor.

Empower NYC, which supports Mayor Eric Adams, is chaired by Adams ally Abe George and aims to raise $15 million.

Newer efforts include a nonprofit spearheaded by investor Lisa Blau, wife of Related Companies chief executive Jeff Blau, to register anti-Mamdani voters while avoiding immediate disclosure requirements.

The proliferation of committees has created a crowded, and at times conflicting, landscape. Aby Rosen of RFR Holding, owner of the Seagram Building, reportedly objected to Burger’s suggestion that groups throw early support behind Adams, preferring a candidate-neutral strategy. As The New York Times report noted, the tension reflects a broader strategic question: whether to consolidate resources behind one moderate candidate or spread the effort across multiple contenders.

The stakes, business leaders argue, could not be higher. The New York real estate and financial sectors employ hundreds of thousands of workers, and executives fear Mamdani’s platform could dampen investment, drive companies out of the city, and destabilize public safety.

The urgency intensified after a deadly shooting in Midtown that forced workers at firms such as Blackstone, Rudin Management, and the National Football League into lockdown. Jared Epstein, a real estate executive, invoked the event during a donor call reported by The New York Times: “This tragedy is not just a moment of mourning; it’s a call to reject policies that would make our city even more vulnerable.”

But unity remains elusive. Adams, Cuomo, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and independent lawyer Jim Walden are all competing for the anti-Mamdani vote. Polling commissioned by the Real Estate Board of New York, reviewed by The New York Times, showed Adams and Cuomo both facing significant obstacles: over 60 percent of voters hold an unfavorable view of the mayor, while more than half view the former governor negatively.

Three consultants involved in independent expenditure groups told The New York Times that donors are being cautioned: unless Adams or Cuomo exits the race, defeating Mamdani will be exceedingly difficult.

Mamdani, meanwhile, has adopted a strategy of direct engagement. According to the information contained in The New York Times report, he has scheduled meetings with Jed Walentas of Two Trees and James Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York. These conversations follow a series of sessions with corporate executives whom Mamdani has sought to reassure, even as he presses ahead with calls for redistributive tax policies and expanded social services.

His campaign has also sharpened its rhetoric. Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman, described the coalition of developers and financiers as “MAGA billionaires who spent millions trying to defeat Zohran in the primary.” She predicted that their efforts would again fail.

Supporting Mamdani are at least two super PACs, including New Yorkers for Lower Costs, which has raised over $100,000 and is now launching merchandise—beer koozies emblazoned with “Freeze the Rent” will retail for $6. “The only faction that Adams and Cuomo have successfully consolidated are Trump donors,” Bill Neidhardt, the group’s spokesman, told The New York Times, arguing that association with Republican financiers further alienates the city’s overwhelmingly Democratic electorate.

Even as millions of dollars are pledged, some of the city’s most prolific donors remain cautious. John Catsimatidis, the billionaire grocer and Republican power broker, advised patience in comments reported by The New York Times: “I tell everybody, don’t get excited. Let’s wait a few weeks.”

Others, however, insist that immediate action is necessary. Jason Haber, a broker and longtime Democratic activist who co-hosted a fundraising call for New Yorkers for a Better Future, told The New York Times that the effort is no gamble: “Every single one of his plans will hurt the very people that he thinks it will help.”

The early stages of coordination have also revealed cross-pollination between groups. Both Lisa Blau and her husband Jeff Blau attended Burger’s call for New Yorkers for a Better Future, while simultaneously advancing their own nonprofit initiative. Veteran consultant Hank Sheinkopf, according to the report in The New York Times, is working with multiple organizations at once, including pro-Adams and pro-police groups, while criticizing rivals for steering donors astray.

The growing number of independent expenditure committees reflects both the scale of resources available and the difficulty of forging consensus. As The New York Times report observed, the city’s business class is willing to invest tens of millions of dollars to stop Mamdani, but remains divided on strategy.

Fix the City is tethered to Cuomo. Empower NYC is firmly pro-Adams. Save the City PAC, launched by real estate agent and reality television figure Eleonora Srugo, promises another pro-Adams outlet. Meanwhile, McCaughey and Ray Kelly are pressing ahead with Save NYC, targeting law-and-order voters.

Mamdani’s supporters argue that the fragmented opposition plays to his advantage, diluting resources and message discipline. But even sympathetic analysts concede that the sheer scale of funding available to his opponents could reshape the race if a consensus candidate emerges.

For now, the contest resembles a waiting game. Adams and Cuomo face pressure to determine whether they will remain in the race, decisions that could shape the allocation of tens of millions in donor spending. Meanwhile, Mamdani continues to consolidate grassroots support while seeking to allay fears within the business community.

“This isn’t just another election fight; it’s a stand against a risky ideology,” Jeff Leb, one of the operatives behind New Yorkers for a Better Future, told The New York Times. “Civic, community, and business leaders across the city aren’t about to hand New York’s future over to an extremist.”

The fight, in other words, is only beginning. With more than three months left in the campaign and donor networks mobilizing, the battle between Mamdani’s insurgent campaign and New York’s entrenched business elite promises to be one of the fiercest—and costliest—political clashes in recent city history.