The outside groups boosting New York City candidates

Outside spending in New York City elections can be a beast to follow. Full of political action committees with strategically vague names, the world of campaign finance extends far beyond candidates for office raising and spending money on their own.

From the mayor’s race to borough president matchups to City Council primaries, independent expenditure committees (as they’re called in New York City) are deeply involved in this year’s elections. Interested parties spending big (and sometimes smaller) bucks on behalf of candidates include casino lobbyists, pro-housing development groups, tech companies lobbying for less regulation, and the home of the New York Knicks.

With less than a month before Election Day, we broke down some of the influential committees to watch, along with their spending on candidates so far. Spending data provided by the New York City Campaign Finance Board is current as of May 27.

Fix the City

Who they’re supporting: Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo

What they’ve spent: $6.2 million, including on pricey television ads

Who they are: A host of powerful allies to Cuomo, including former secretary to the governor Steve Cohen, former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr., and Brian Ellner, an advocate in New York’s fight for same-sex marriage, are on the PAC’s leadership team and board. Donors include Doordash and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

Not to be confused with: Restore Sanity NYC, a nonprofit whose messaging has aligned with Cuomo’s, though it is not explicitly backing a candidate and doesn’t have to disclose its funders. The group is linked to Tusk Strategies, whose higher-ups are advising Cuomo’s campaign.

Affordable New York

Who they’re supporting: Democratic City Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers, Eric Dinowitz, Amanda Farías, Oswald Feliz, Crystal Hudson, Farah Louis, Mercedes Narcisse, Kevin Riley, and Althea Stevens, Democratic City Council candidates Tyrell Hankerson and Elsie Encarnacion, and Democratic Bronx Borough President candidate Rafael Salamanca

What they’ve spent: $1.1 million, including on digital ads and print mailers

Who they are: Airbnb is the architect and sole funder of this PAC – to the tune of $5 million. The ever-expanding short-term rental company has had a bruising couple years in New York City following a 2022 law restricting rentals, but a City Council bill under heated debate would loosen those restrictions.

Uber NY PAC

Who they’re supporting: Democratic City Council Members Shaun Abreu, Carmen De La Rosa, Eric Dinowitz, Crystal Hudson, Darlene Mealy, Julie Menin, Mercedes Narcisse, Althea Stevens, and Democratic City Council candidates Yanna Henriquez and Maya Kornberg

What they’ve spent: $814,000, including on mailers and digital ads for these council candidates. Also included in that is $50,000 that the committee contributed to a different PAC run by the Real Estate Board of New York (more below).

Who they are: As its name suggests, the ride-hailing app Uber is behind this PAC, allocating $2.5 million to the effort.

New Yorkers for Lower Costs

Who they’re supporting: Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani

Who they’re opposing: Democratic mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo

What they’ve spent: $29,000 on text blasts and Facebook ads boosting Mamdani and attacking Cuomo

Who they are: Progressive political consultant Regina Monge filed paperwork for the committee back in March. Howie Stanger, founder of the progressive firm Pocketbook Strategies, is the committee’s treasurer.

Not to be confused with: Two separate committees fighting Cuomo – New Yorkers for  Better New York Today, and New Yorkers for Better Leadership.

United for NYC’s Future

Who they’re supporting: Democratic City Council Members Shaun Abreu, Crystal Hudson and Julie Menin, and Democratic City Council candidates Dermot Smyth and Virginia Maloney

What they’ve spent: $318,000, including on mailers and digital ads for these candidates

Who they are: The city’s powerful teacher’s union, United Federation of Teachers, is behind this committee. All $1.5 million of the committee’s spending power comes from affiliate unions – the American Federation of Teachers and New York State United Teachers.

Not to be confused with: Other major labor unions involved in independent spending, including the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. Through its campaign arm, the union plans to spend $1 million to support Cuomo, $1 million in support of its endorsed City Council candidates, and additional spending on Manhattan Borough President candidate Keith Powers.

Solidarity PAC

Who they’re supporting: Democratic City Council Members Lynn Schulman, Eric Dinowitz, Shaun Abreu, Susan Zhuang, and Democratic City Council candidates Ling Ye, Maya Kornberg and Dermot Smyth

What they’ve spent: Unlike the other committees listed above, this PAC hasn’t spent directly on mailers or ads for its endorsed candidates so far. Instead, it has hosted virtual fundraisers for its endorsed candidates, yielding $8,100 for Abreu and $11,496 to Dinowitz, as reported to the city Campaign Finance Board so far. A New York Focus analysis found around $80,000 in donations for its endorsed candidates affiliated with the PAC as of mid-March.

Who they are: The pro-Israel Solidarity PAC describes itself as focused on “candidates and efforts who support the best interests of New York’s Jewish community.” 

Ending Homelessness & Building a Better NYC 

Who they’re supporting: City Council District 8 Democratic candidate Wilfredo Lopez, as well as Democratic City Council Members Chris Marte and Yusef Salaam, and Democratic City Council candidate Erycka Montoya

What they’ve spent: $232,000, including on mailers, digital ads and t-shirts promoting Lopez. (Their filing to the city Campaign Finance Board previously showed additional spending on mailers attacking opposing District 8 candidates Elsie Encarnacion and Raymond Santana, but that has been removed from the filing and the committee has not explained why.)The committee’s total spending reflected in disclosures to the state Board of Elections is just over $1 million, and included spending on ballot challenges to Lopez’s opponents.

Who they are: Michael Jenkins, the co-founder of financial trading firm Jane Street and frequent Bronx election donor, has poured $1.6 million into this PAC. The PAC is being managed by Jason Autar and Tomas Ramos, leaders of Bronx-based nonprofit Oyate Group, which describes itself as dedicated to “alleviating poverty and empowering underserved communities.”