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rooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso's reelection campaign has accepted significant donations from real estate industry players, despite his 2021 promise to reject contributions from the sector. A review of city records by The Daily News found that Reynoso's campaign has received nearly $25,000 in donations from over a dozen individuals working in real estate.

    This issue was raised during last week's debate when Reynoso's Democratic primary opponent, Khari Edwards, questioned why the borough president had accepted donations from "luxury developers" despite his claims of not taking money from the industry. Reynoso pushed back, calling the question "nonsense," but a review of public disclosures revealed that his campaign has accepted donations from individuals working in real estate, including Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone Group.

    Reynoso's campaign returned $680 of Hochberg's donation after it was discovered to be over the limit, but not until several months later. Other real estate players who gave to Reynoso's reelection bid include Zev Friedman, chief financial officer of Bonjour Capital. Campaign manager Ben Hoffman acknowledged that some donations from industry players contradicted Reynoso's 2021 commitment, but argued that they came from landlords and property managers rather than developers.

    Reynoso has spoken about the importance of not taking donations from developers specifically, but Edwards called him "dishonest" for accepting contributions from real estate industry players. The fundraising battle between Reynoso and Edwards is ongoing, with Reynoso sitting on $811,891 compared to Edwards' $239,148.