No builder bucks
Van Bramer’s vow as he eyes Qns. Beep seat
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer is pledging not to take any campaign cash from real estate developers or big landlords in his likely bid for Queens borough president.
“I don't want there to be any doubt in people's minds about where my loyalties lie, and so we won't accept anything going forward — but we're also going to return anything we've raised in this cycle,” Van Bramer told the Daily News.
Van Bramer is “seriously looking at” running for beep in 2021, when Melinda Katz will be term-limited out of the office, and in January opened a 2021 campaign account. He has reported $146,000 in donations — some of it from real estate developers who will be getting their checks returned.
While the field is still nebulous — the primary is three years away — Van Bramer said he wanted to see whether any other potential contenders would join his call in rebuffing real estate.
“Regardless of whether anybody else does, I think it's the right thing to do, and I think it's become one of the most important issues of our time,” Van Bramer said.
Van Bramer said he'd return and no longer accept cash from developers and major landlords — but somebody renting out half of a duplex is welcome to pitch in. His campaign was calculating the amount that might have to be returned by Van Bramer pegged it at between $15,000 and $20,000. He'll give back the cash before the next filing deadline, which is in January.
He was inspired in part by congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had assailed the influence of luxury developers in local politics. It's not the first move Ocasio-Cortez inspired in Van Bramer — he also cited her machine-smashing victory when he decided to revoke his endorsement of Public Advocate Letitia James in the Democratic primary for attorney general and back Zephyr Teachout. James ultimately prevailed.
Van Bramer said his first gig in city politics was working for a good-government group's campaign calling for a public matching system for elections — which now exists in the city. He said he believes in full public financing for elections — but until that happens, raising money is necessary, he said.
“In some cases, we have to raise a lot of money. But I want to make the break,” he said. “I want to make it clean. And I believe that the next borough president, the next mayor, has to make this pledge and agree not to accept money from real estate developers and real estate interests so that people have the faith and confidence in us that we are doing the right thing for the right reasons.”
Few industries can rival real estate when it comes to entanglement with New York City local politics — the money has fueled scores of campaigns by people who go on to make land-use decisions that are crucial to developers who want to build. Meanwhile, rents have continued to rise in the gentrifying city, stoking fears among tenants that they are being pushed out their neighborhoods by luxury builders.
Van Bramer noted his district, which includes Long Island City, is home to a number of hotly debated development proposals.
“It's important to make that break and not accept those donations so that there's not even the appearance that could be swayed in any way on those items that,” he said.