The local paper for the Upper East Side ONCE UPON A TIME IN NEW YORK ◄ P.19
WEEK OF JUNE-JULY
27-3 2019
CHASING THE MONEY IN MANHATTAN POLITICS As the Democratic presidential candidates court wealthy donors, an early look at who’s ahead in NYC’s dollar derby BY STUART MARQUES
The Democratic Dash for Cash is in high gear as presidential candidates — from frontrunners to likely also-rans — are courting mega-rich Manhattan donors as the race for the nomination heats up after the first round of debates. Former Vice President Joe Biden swung through Manhattan on June 17 and June 18 for big-bucks fundraisers, one of which was held at the Upper East Side home Jim Chanos, the founder of Kynikos Associates, a prominent short-selling investment firm. According to pool press reports, guests mingled in the din-
ing room of the art-filled penthouse, sipping wine and chatting. Other prominent candidates have also waded in the Manhattan money pool, including U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, who pumped the flesh at the home of Marc Lasry, a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks basketball team and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who attended an early June fundraiser at the home of Hamilton James of the Blackstone Group. “They all come through Manhattan because this is where the candidates get their money,” longtime political consultant George Arzt said. “They think New York City streets are paved with gold and they want to get as much as they can.” The latest numbers in New York’s dollar derby surprisingly show New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker with a healthy edge over Kirsten Gillibrand, New York’s junior senator,
and with be updated in about three weeks — and for the first time will include numbers from Biden and Mayor Bill de Blasio. “I’m not completely surprised that Gillibrand wasn’t first, but I would have thought Harris, [Sen. Bernie] Sanders or [Sen. Elizabeth] Warren would have been more likely to be Number 1,” said political consultant Jerry Skurnik. “I think if contributions under $200 are included, Sanders and Warren might be ahead.”
Sen. Kamala Harris. Photo: Gage Skidmore, via flickr
with Booker pulling $1.7 million statewide, compared to Gillibrand’s $1.28 million. The numbers, from the April 15 filings, are itemized contributions of more than $200 in the election cycle
The New York congresswoman has been wearing a custom FDNY jacket in support of the bill to aid 9/11 first responders BY EMA SCHUMER
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney with firefighters. Photo courtesy of Office of Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney
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Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has added a new statement piece to her wardrobe, courtesy of the New York City Fire Department. The Democrat from the 12th Congressional District has been spotted
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Restaurant Ratings 14 Business 16 Real Estate 17 15 Minutes 21
SPILLING OVER The Whitney’s colorful 1960s paintings, P. 12
‘Upper East Side Donors are Holding Back’ Despite the absence of Biden and de Blasio, the early numbers provide a look at where the money’s coming from, and who’s getting it.
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MALONEY’S ‘FASHION WITH A PURPOSE’ HEROES ACT
INSIDE
in photographs wearing an oversized, custom FDNY jacket. On the first Monday in May, she wore it over her bright yellow ball gown at the Met Gala. The next month, she wore it to the ribbon cutting of the renovation of an Upper East Side neighborhood center. And in the nation’s capital, the congresswoman wore the jacket in the audience of comedian and New Yorker Jon Stewart’s impassioned testimony before the House Judiciary Committee advo-
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A CULTURE OF LIBERATION Author and filmmaker David France reflects on Stonewall, AIDS and more, P. 6
CHEWING THEIR WAY THROUGH RIVERSIDE PARK The visiting goats have exceeded expectations, P. 2
Jewish women and girls light u the world by lighting the Shabb candles every Friday evening 18 minutes before sunset. Friday, June 28 – 8:13 pm. For more information visit www.chabaduppereastrside.co
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