Zephyr Teachout, who boasts of not accepting any campaign cash from developers, recently announced plans to staff up units in the attorney general's office that tackle real estate-related crimes. | AP Photo Top New York developer throws his weight into AG race

New York's biggest developer is helping to bankroll an eleventh-hour effort to take down an attorney general candidate who has vowed to do battle with the real estate industry.

The Related Companies donated $100,000 to a political action committee on Aug. 29 — money that was quickly spent on a digital campaign against Democratic candidate Zephyr Teachout. The Fordham law professor and former gubernatorial candidate has rolled out an aggressive plan to go after real estate-related crimes in her primary battle against Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, Public Advocate Tish James and Leecia Eve.


The Committee for Justice and Fairness PAC, which lists Chattanooga, Tenn., as its official address, registered with the state Board of Elections on Aug. 13. Several weeks later, its donation appeared on state campaign finance filings. The PAC then filed plans on Sept. 7 to spend $100,000 on anti-Teachout ads that would run through Thursday, when voters head to the polls in the four-way primary race.

In the interim, on Aug. 31, Related Chairman Stephen Ross donated $21,000 to the Maloney campaign.

The $100,000 donation appears to be the most action the PAC has had all year. Its July filing with the Federal Election Commission showed it had a mere $727.55 on hand during that reporting period after spending just $30 that quarter — and $75 all year — on operating expenses.

Ross, who is embroiled in a feud with building trades unions over construction at his Hudson Yards mega-development, has historically spent more on Republicans than Democrats. His simultaneous support of Maloney and the effort to defeat Teachout demonstrate the concern about her insurgent candidacy in the state's powerful real estate sector.

Teachout, who boasts of not accepting any campaign cash from developers, recently announced plans to staff up units in the attorney general's office that tackle real estate-related crimes. She said she would ramp up prosecutions for property tax break fraud, tenant harassment and illegal conversions, for instance.

She made her announcement Aug. 30, the day before Ross donated to Maloney.

"We have to investigate illegal tenant harassment, tax fraud, money laundering, and the real question is, why haven't we investigated this fully before? Why has New York City real estate been able to be so dirty and so cruel for so long? The answer is developer money," Teachout said at that press conference.

A spokesperson for Related did not immediately provide comment.

Maloney said in an emailed statement that he’s committed to going after real estate fraud.

“The attorney general has an obligation to follow the facts and the law, and I can promise you one thing, when I am attorney general, if those facts tell me you're committing a crime, I don't give a damn who you are — shady landlord or real estate billionaire — we are coming for you,” he said.

“Personally, I don't care who you are or which candidate you support, everyone will be held to the same standards,” he added, in response to a question on his ability to go after an industry from which he’s received donations.

Asked whether he thinks Teachout’s rhetoric on the real estate industry is overblown, he said, “I think Zephyr has a long history of saying whatever she thinks will get her votes.”

In a statement on the Related donations, Teachout said: “Big real estate is throwing everything at me because they know I won’t back down. New Yorkers need an Attorney General to protect them from predatory billionaires like Ross.”

Lora Haggard, a political consultant with the firm Blue Wave Political Partners who is listed as the treasurer of the Committee for Justice and Fairness PAC, did not return request for comment or more details on what the digital ads entailed. The PAC, which is registered with addresses in both Chattanooga and Washington, D.C., has a history of involvement in state attorney general races, funding campaign ads in states including Vermont and Arizona. The committee has also received funding in past years from the Democratic Attorneys General Association, according to FEC filings.

That Teachout is the target of the real estate industry is just the latest sign that James — a pro-union, liberal Democrat who won her first political race on the Working Families Party line — is viewed as an establishment candidate.

The Real Deal recently reported that the real estate industry has given Maloney at least $433,000 and James $280,000.

Asked how she plans to go after the real estate industry, a spokesperson for James said in an emailed statement: “If anyone — from Donald Trump to bad landlords to the NRA — violates our laws and harms New Yorkers, Tish James will prosecute them. She will never waver in that commitment. It’s what she’s been doing her entire career — and you just can’t say the same for her opponents.”

The primary race has been one of the most competitive this election season following Eric Schneiderman's resignation earlier this year amid allegations of abuse made by several women. A Siena poll released Monday found that Maloney has inched to the top of the field, drawing the support of 25 percent of likely voters. James was well within the margin of error, receiving 24 percent, and Teachout got 18 percent. Leecia Eve was a distant fourth with 3 percent, and 30 percent of voters remain undecided.