New York lobbyists are hitting the jackpot as they push to open casinos in the Big Apple, raking in big bucks while trying to win over Mayor Eric Adams and city council members. new city report reveal.
Compensation for lobbyists jumped 8% last year, rising from $121.15 million to $130.96 million in 2022, according to an annual survey prepared by the City Clerk’s Office, which regulates lobbying.
Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen and entities connected to Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment are leading the charges, which last year led to the construction of an $8 billion sprawling casino, hotel and music complex dubbed the vacant “Metropolitan Park.” More than $2 million was spent announcing the venue and securing a stable of lobbyists. There are a lot of them next to Citi Field.
Cohen’s New Green Willets and Queen’s Future spent $946,809 and $450,000, respectively, for a total of nearly $1.4 million, according to the report.
His firm maintained seven different lobbying organizations, including:
- former Bronx Democratic Party chairman Marco Crespo;
- Former Queens City Councilmember Julissa Ferrera Copeland/Hollis Spokesperson.
- The Milam Group is led by former Bronx Democratic Party leader Roberto Ramirez and Luis Miranda, father of playwright Lin Manuel-Miranda.
- Moonwalk Strategies is co-founded by Jenny Sedoris, who previously ran the pro-Eric Adams Super Pac and charter school advocacy group, and Brad, who heads the task group and previously worked for former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Co-founded by Lee Tusk.
Cohen’s gaming partner, Seminole Hard Rock, spent $660,000 lobbying for the project, with $540,000 going to lobbyists for Actum Ca Opc and Green Book Strategies, owned by Austin and Jennifer Shafran. Ta.
Meanwhile, in a project next door to Mr. Cohen’s, CFG Stadium Group is investing $540,000 to build the Big Apple’s first-ever soccer stadium at Willets Point for the York City Football Club. received approval to build.
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards joked that his popularity is growing given the economic development projections for Queens, particularly his lobbying efforts for a proposed casino at Willets Point and a soccer stadium deal.
“There’s no shortage of meetings,” Richards said, acknowledging that lobbyists for both projects took community needs into account.
Other casino companies are also lobbying to offer chips. Wynn Resorts, which wants to open a casino at Hudson Yards, spent $314,000 on lobbying, according to data.
MGM Resorts, which is looking to convert the slot parlor at Yonkers Raceway into a full casino with table games, is spending $300,000 on lobbying, similar to Genting Resorts World in Aqueduct, and plans to offer not just slots but tables. We are also trying to offer games.
Bally’s, which is considering taking over the Trump Organization’s Ferry Point Golf Course in the Bronx and building a casino on the property, paid $285,000, data show. According to the report, Caesars Palace paid $185,000 in lobbying fees to promote the opening of a casino in Times Square.
Homeowners for an Affordable New York, a group backed by real estate interests, donated $1.143 million to George Fontas’ Fontas Advisors, the largest amount ever for a single lobbyist, according to data. did. The group’s funders include the New York State Real Estate Commission and the Rent Stabilization Association.
Fontas lobbied the mayor’s office to oppose a state law that would make it harder for landlords to evict tenants “without just cause,” according to lobbying records.
The real estate industry accounted for a third of lobbying spending last year, by far the largest of any sector, figures show.
For the seventh year in a row, the highest-paid lobbyist was Sri Cassirer’s firm, Cassirer LLC, with $16.8 million, according to the data.
Mr. Cassirer’s client, Stony Brook University, won the city’s competitive bid to operate the $700 million New York Climate Exchange lab on Governors Island, which he considered one of the highlights of the year.
According to the numbers, some of the other top lobbying ventures include:
- Cable giant Charter Communications, which owns Spectrum and local news channel NY1, spent $775,000 on lobbying efforts to pursue issues such as broadband access.
- NYS trial lawyers spent $714,876.
- MSG Entertainment spent $594,742 to secure a five-year extension of a special permit to operate Penn Station’s Madison Square.
- Vornado Realty spent $544,557 to redevelop Pier 94 on the West Side as a film and television studio campus.
- RAI Service Company/Reynolds American tobacco companies spent $527,835 successfully fighting to block legislation banning menthol cigarettes.
- Northwell Health spent $512,109 to modernize and expand Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan’s East Side.
