Some of New York City’s richest landlords are done sitting on the sidelines of the city’s mayor’s race.
In an email blast sent out at 6:55 p.m. on Monday, the man who is arguably Manhattan’s biggest developer appealed to his exclusive circle, saying that if they did not take immediate action to support former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the election in November would assuredly be won by Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani.
“Sorry for the late notice, but there is no more time for delay, discussion, or dithering — we must act decisively to ensure that the next mayor of New York is Andrew Cuomo,” read the note from Jeff Blau, the developer of Hudson Yards, and his wife, Lisa Blau, an investor. “The only viable candidate with the experience, support and gravitas to defeat Zohran Mamdani is Governor Andrew Cuomo.”
The email, acquired by The New York Times on Monday evening, urged recipients to gather on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m., less than 14 hours later, at the Pool Room, an exclusive event space in the Seagram Building in Midtown, to meet Mr. Cuomo and help plot his path to victory.
“We cannot afford hesitation,” the email read. “Every one of us must get involved immediately.”
In addition to the Blaus, the invitation was signed by, among others, a co-owner of the Seagram Building, Aby Rosen; the billionaire philanthropist Laurie M. Tisch; and the hedge fund billionaire Gregg Hymowitz.
Mr. Hymowitz and Mr. Rosen did not respond to requests for comment. Ms. Tisch could not be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for the Blaus declined to comment, as did a spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo.
On Tuesday morning, guests trickled into the entrance to the Pool Room on 52nd Street, mostly ignoring TV reporters asking them why they were there. Mr. Cuomo largely avoided the news media entirely, entering the building’s main entrance on Park Avenue.
The meeting comes at a potentially pivotal moment in this year’s chaotic race for mayor as it enters its final eight weeks. Months after Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist assemblyman from Queens, inspired panic among Wall Street and real estate leaders by trouncing Mr. Cuomo in the Democratic primary for mayor, the general election remains unsettled, with moneyed interests sitting restlessly on the sidelines as they wait for the field to consolidate behind a formidable challenger to Mr. Mamdani.
In recent days, the race appears to have shifted slightly in that direction. Jim Walden, a prominent lawyer who had mounted an independent campaign for mayor, said he was dropping out and urged his rivals to unite against Mr. Mamdani.
Mayor Eric Adams, who like Mr. Cuomo is running as an independent, privately told allies that he was seriously considering jobs that could prompt him to suspend his re-election campaign, and he met last week in Florida with Steve Witkoff, an adviser to President Trump. Mr. Witkoff, in turn, had been helping craft a plan to get the president to nominate Mr. Adams as ambassador to Saudi Arabia. That plan appears to have at least temporarily lost steam.
In a hastily arranged Friday afternoon news conference, Mr. Adams insisted he was not going anywhere.
Yet the very next day, Bill Ackman, the billionaire financier who was once so close to Mr. Adams that he helped vet the mayor’s campaign manager, urged Mr. Adams to step aside.
“I strongly believe that what is best for NYC — Eric stepping aside — is also what is best for Eric Adams,” Mr. Ackman wrote on social media. “Eric should know that good will is a very valuable asset and the alternative is a very costly liability.”
Mr. Trump appears to agree.
On Tuesday morning, the same day The Times and Siena University released poll numbers showing Mr. Mamdani with a formidable lead (and Mr. Adams at 9 percent), an interview with the president aired on Sid Rosenberg’s conservative talk radio.
“The mayor is polling badly,” Mr. Trump said, before noting his role in having the Justice Department abandon Mr. Adams’s federal corruption indictment. “Now, if you had two people drop out, could somebody win? The answer is maybe, but even that’s going to be a little bit of a long shot, I guess, based on the polls.”
Advisers to the president have also discussed finding a job for Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate and founder of the Guardian Angels, something Mr. Sliwa has said he will not consider.
These developments appear to have inspired hope among business leaders that consolidation in the mayoral field might soon be at hand.
“The time to act is now,” read the email. “If we fail to mobilize, the financial capital of the world risks being handed over to a socialist this November. We cannot — and will not — let that happen.”
In a statement, a spokeswoman for Mr. Mamdani suggested that the business leaders’ behind-the-scenes maneuvering reflected poorly on Mr. Cuomo, their chosen candidate.
“While billionaires continue to panic and scheme behind closed doors, our campaign is mobilizing tens of thousands of New Yorkers to get involved in the democratic process and rally around an agenda to make this city affordable,” Dora Pekec, a spokeswoman for the Mamdani campaign, said in a statement. “That contrast should tell you everything you need to know about this race.”
Tim Balk contributed reporting.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
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