Big Bucks Pour Into Upper East Side Council Race As Primary Nears

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — With days before the June 22 primary election, outside groups have ratcheted up their spending on the Upper East Side's hotly contested City Council race — with most of the recent contributions flowing to a single candidate.

Independent spending in the District 5 race has ballooned more than eightfold since Patch last reported on the matter on Friday, reaching a total of $154,021 by Wednesday, according to the city's Campaign Finance Board. (Early voting is already underway and runs through June 20.)

About 90 percent of those dollars have gone to Julie Menin, the city's outgoing census director and city commissioner who is one of seven Democrats running for Ben Kallos's seat. Another candidate, Kim Moscaritolo, has gotten $10,000 from a neighborhood group.

The latest spending boosting Menin includes $17,797 more from Common Sense NYC: a pro-business super PAC whose donors include real estate magnate Stephen Ross and cosmetics heir Ron Lauder.

Two new PACs supporting Menin have also joined the fray in the past few days. One, named Rebuild NYC, has spent $61,706 to back Menin through three mailers and an internet video advertisement.

Registered on East 57th Street, Rebuild NYC's top donors are Matthew Dontzin, an attorney; Seth Weissman, a hedge fund manager; and Pericles Navab, CEO of the wholesaler PITCO Foods. Though the group's stated purpose is to "promote candidates in City Council elections," its website features only Menin.

Mailers sent to voters by Rebuild NYC tout Menin's work on the census drive and her stances on public safety, clean streets and public transit, while Common Sense's materials emphasize her "Quality of Life Plan." (Leaders of that PAC told THE CITY they were focused on opposing candidates who want to defund the police — a call that Menin has resisted.)

Finally, the group Labor Strong 2021 has spent $46,258 to support Menin. She is one of 23 candidates citywide to win support from that group, which is affiliated with 32BJ SEIU — an influential union that has endorsed her.

Menin, who has no say in which outside groups choose to support her campaign, told Patch last week that she disavowed "all outside spending." A spokesperson repeated that statement on Wednesday.

"This is outside spending in Council races across the City by labor unions representing working New Yorkers and business groups supporting candidates who oppose defunding the police," her campaign manager, Jacob Cogdill, said in an email.

Moscaritolo backed by UES group

Meanwhile, Kim Moscaritolo's campaign has been the other beneficiary in the recent spending surge, having received $10,434 from FFDC 2021 — an arm of the Upper East Side's Four Freedoms Democratic Club, whose members endorsed her for City Council.

FFDC's top donor is Gerald Ferguson, the club's president. Its spending on behalf of Moscaritolo has consisted of a mailer that trumpets the group's endorsement and says she has "has been fighting to create a City where everyone can prosper."

The outside influence in the District 5 race raised eyebrows when it was first disclosed last week. Five fellow candidates condemned the spending in support of Menin's campaign, including Moscaritolo, who said she was "proud NOT to be supported by billionaire, Trump-supporting real estate developers."

Menin retorted that her rivals were "grasp[ing] at straws" because she was "the only candidate with city government experience" — a claim disputed by some of her rivals, who have served on neighborhood community boards.

The only other independent expenditure in the District 5 race has gone to Rebecca Lamorte, whose campaign got a $4,575 boost from Laborers Building a Better New York — a pro-labor group.

All told, most of the spending in District 5 — more than $355,000 — has come from individual people.

The City Council primary election will be held on June 22, with early voting from June 12–20. Find your polling place here.

Previous District 5 election coverage:

• Outside Spending In Upper East Side Council Race Draws Scrutiny
• Here's Where The Upper East Side Candidates Stand On Your Issues
• UES Council Candidates Face Off In Person: Important Takeaways