Reynoso is a trusted leader for pro-supply housing policy

Antonio Reynoso has built a record as Brooklyn Borough President that is squarely aligned with our agenda. Reynoso brings political savvy to his support of pro-housing policies fight––arguing that wealthier, whiter neighborhoods need to build and making the case that the pro-supply coalition only holds if the new building is spread citywide. He championed City of Yes and pushed the Adams administration to go further. Most recently, he described his housing policy to the New York Editorial Board as, “building so much housing that landlords start fighting for tenants, not what we see now, where it’s tenants fighting for an apartment.” Reynoso was also a consistent defender of congestion pricing. We acknowledge Reynoso's record has not always supported our agenda, but we have decided to take his evolution at face value and to commit to holding him to his word.

Lander has led pro-supply housing policies, new transit funding and building, and clean energy development for decades and has deep roots in the district

Lander served as city council member for the Brooklyn parts of the district for three terms and as citywide comptroller one term before running for mayor. He has a long track record on built environment issues. He led the Gowanus neighborhood rezoning, which legalized 8,000 new units and secured infrastructure investment and funding for NYCHA projects. He also supported City of Yes, and sued to implement congestion pricing in 2024. Lander also has a strong record on pedestrian and cyclist safety, backing the Prospect Park West bike lane and redesigning 9th Street in Brooklyn. As comptroller, he was a consistent ally for capital construction, housing supply, and property tax reform, none of which were particularly popular at the time. The reports his office produced were a valuable resource for our own policy agenda. Lander’s mayoral platform similarly earned our praise (and other Abundance-related support) and he has mostly stuck to those ideas in this race.

While we admire his achievements, we have concerns about Lander’s record and some of his current stances. During his tenure in the council, he opposed some rezonings that would have contributed housing (though this stance was no worse and often better than many of his peers). More recently, in the candidate forum we hosted, Lander said that he supported a ban on investor-owned “build-to-rent” housing in the Road to Housing bill. One estimate says a ban on these homes could prevent as many as 80,000 units a year from coming on the market, the same number that all of City of Yes legalized, making Lander’s stance deeply misguided. Further, we are dismayed at his demand that Brooklyn Marine Terminal development be delayed; this is a NIMBY stance that seems cynically targeted at Goldman’s leadership on the issue.

This race is too close for us to call — vote Bores or Lasher to elect an abundance champion

We are excited to endorse Lasher and Bores on their own merits, but also because either would be so much better than the alternatives. Jack Schlossberg is woefully underqualified and has crossed the line from ambition and optimism to selling snake oil to voters, most disappointingly in rallying NYCHA residents against a much-needed redevelopment plan.

Bores grew up in the district and has served in the assembly since 2023. His work as a computer scientist (and for Palantir) has been a focus of this race. We do not see anything disqualifying in that experience; instead, Bores has put his background to work for the public. He authored New York's major AI safety act, which requires the largest artificial intelligence developers to maintain safety protocols and report critical incidents. It is one of the only laws passed nationally to regulate the AI industry at all and for his efforts, Bores is the target of millions of dollars in attack ads from major technology companies. Bores has also sponsored land value tax reform legislation—an innovative approach that removes the incentive to hold vacant parcels in a housing market under pressure. Bores has also worked throughout his time in Albany on agile procurement legislation, shared public services, and civil service modernization. He comes to policy questions with fresh eyes and does his homework to reach for new answers rather than falling back on received wisdom. We think that approach will serve Congress well.

Both Bores and Lasher would be much better in Congress than any of their opponents. We cannot recommend one over the other at this time, but we may revisit as the race continues.

This race is too close for us to call — vote Bores or Lasher to elect an abundance champion

We are excited to endorse Lasher and Bores on their own merits, but also because either would be so much better than the alternatives. Jack Schlossberg is woefully underqualified and has crossed the line from ambition and optimism to selling snake oil to voters, most disappointingly in rallying NYCHA residents against a much-needed redevelopment plan.

Lasher has a long record of distinguished public service. Before his election to the Assembly last year, he served as Governor Hochul's policy director, chief of staff to former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, on former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s intergovernmental team, and as an aide to Nadler. In the Governor’s office, he helped craft the New York Housing Compact, a desperately needed measure that would have dramatically aided the state’s housing crisis, but ultimately failed in the legislature. In the Assembly, he passed legislation to consistently tax clean energy projects, which prevents localities from taxing renewable development out of viability, and co-sponsored SEQRA reform and transit-oriented development legislation. We were impressed by Lasher’s fluency in the wide range of federal levers that would make an impact on our issues. Lasher has also repeatedly told difficult truths in this race when many of his opponents, except Bores, engage in wishful thinking, including regarding a controversial NYCHA project and, separately, the likelihood of the Senate voting to impeach Trump.

Both Bores and Lasher would be much better in Congress than any of their opponents. We cannot recommend one over the other at this time, but we may revisit as the race continues.

It is time for a change in the comptroller’s office and Warshaw has the experience to elevate the role

Drew Warshaw has spent his career working on our issues. He worked in the governor’s office before becoming chief of staff at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, a massive agency with a large capital budget, where he helped manage the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, which had been paralyzed in jurisdictional fights. He then led a solar energy business for roughly nine years before moving to an executive role and eventually co-CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing developer and leader in community development policy. We value his professional experience, which includes nearly all aspects of our built environment focus.

Warshaw has put forward a $20 billion housing investment plan, which he says will not affect the office’s fiduciary responsibilities because he is confident that overall, the portfolio will still easily clear the 5.9% threshold (that DiNapoli wisely put in place). It is unlikely that the risk-adjusted returns from investing in housing, especially multifamily housing aimed at middle class or working class New Yorkers, will be as lucrative as other investments and we are skeptical of any comptroller getting too adventurous with retirees’ pensions, but we value the ambition of his vision. In our meeting with him, Warshaw also pitched using the comptroller’s audit authority to address building codes and other regulatory issues that are costing the state government, local governments, and New Yorkers money needlessly. These ideas are creative and we would like to see this energy in the office.

Raga's proven record in Albany—and commitments to making it easier, cheaper, and faster to build—make him the clear choice in an open and closely watched seat

Our choice is Steven Raga, who has served in the New York State Assembly in District 30, which overlaps with Senate District 12, since 2022. He previously served on Queens Community Board 2 and was chief of staff to former AD-30 Assemblymember Brian Barnwell. In office, Raga has co-sponsored several abundance-related bills, from the Faith Based Affordable Housing Act to Universal Daylighting to Automated Curb Enforcement.

Raga’s experience in Albany, sponsorship of key abundance legislation, and support of our policy platform have earned him our recommendation. We are eager to see how he uses a larger platform in the Senate to advance the supply-side reforms, transit investment, renewable energy, and government delivery improvements this district and this state sorely need.