File photo of Mayor Bill de Blasio speaking about affordable housing programs.
NEW YORK CITY—Mayor Bill de Blasio launched his campaign to be president of the United States on Thursday. With a YouTube video and the tagline “Working People First,” New York City's mayor officially put his hat in the ring for the highest office of the land, to take on Donald Trump with a progressive agenda. The mayor lists accomplishments that he wants to bring to the national level such as universal pre-K and $15 an hour minimum wage. Plus, crime in New York City is at a record low.
But the odds are against him. Polls report he's nearly at the bottom of the list of 23 Democratic candidates who have entered the race and he's lagging in fundraising. Off the record to GlobeSt.com, numerous leading real estate professionals did not provide optimistic or encouraging endorsements of the mayor's political ambitions.
Seth Pinsky, EVP and investment manager of the metropolitan emerging market strategy, and public affairs director at RXR Realty provided the following statement to GlobeSt.com:
“The good news is that New York is at the top of its game with near-record employment, population and visitorship. The hope of everyone in real estate is that this will continue. If it doesn't though and the city encounters any problems, one would hope that a presidential bid does not distract the mayor from addressing these problems. Presumably, the mayor, as a responsible leader, has considered this, but it is definitely something to watch closely.”
Prior to joining RXR, Pinsky was the director of Mayor Michael Bloomberg's special initiative for rebuilding and resiliency. He also served as president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
Paul J. Massey, Jr., the CEO of B6 Real Estate Advisors, who launched a campaign as the Republican candidate for mayor in 2016, when asked about Mayor de Blasio's news told GlobeSt.com, “I think this confirms that he never really wanted the mayor's job. I think this was always his goal, which is why he has been half-hearted in his performance and in his commitment.”
He said there was never any doubt of prior New York City mayors being fully committed to the job. With the polling numbers, when asked if perhaps the mayor could be running for ulterior reasons such as putting a greater national spotlight on some of New Yorker's concerns, Massey responded, “I wish he were that committed to New York. But no, he's evidenced this agenda from the beginning and it makes no sense. He has abdicated his job in creating housing and has abdicated his job in helping kids in our public schools. All he has done is raise taxes. He has his agenda.”
The mayor has been implementing a plan called Housing New York 2.0 which aims to create or preserve 300,000 units of affordable housing by 2026.
Massey criticized the initiative stating, “He hasn't created nearly enough housing.” The long-time New York real estate executive did not think the CRE world would be affected by the mayor's running a campaign while serving in office.
As to why the mayor's presidential aspirations have not drummed up a more enthusiastic response, Massey opined, “I think the country is looking for leadership right now and probably is not looking in his direction.”
On Thursday, on CBS News Laura Nahmias, a journalist with Politico, stated it would be difficult to run for president while serving as mayor of New York City which is a 24-hour job. She reported de Blasio's inner circle has been uniformly against his presidential bid and has counseled him against it saying it might hurt his final years in office, especially if he does not win.
The mayor's office did not respond to GlobeSt.com by the filing deadline. This article will be updated if a response or more information is received.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
