Would–be New York City mayor Paul Massey says election victor Bill de Blasio should get over himself and get on with the job without squabbling over petty politics with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
(Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images)
Speaking after de Blasio romped to victory in the general election against Republican Nicole Malliotakis, Massey said, “The two of them need to work together and the mayor needs to take ownership of that.
“The city needs to focus on leadership, it’s something that’s been very, very important to the city and we’ve been lacking it,” he added. “There will be times very soon where we need it and, hopefully, we’ll get it from him.”
Massey dropped out of the Republican primary race in late June spending $2 million. At the time, he said: “Unfortunately, the cost of running for office is extraordinary, and I do not see a path to raising the necessary funds to beat an incumbent mayor. I am forever indebted to my family, team and my friends for their support.”
As the city woke up on Wednesday to the news that de Blasio would remain in office for a second term despite a run of scandalous corruption headlines, the real estate executive admitted he was disappointed, but not surprised.
“That to me is old school politics, that’s not the way the world works, it’s certainly not the way the business world works,” Massey said of the pay-for-play politics of which de Blasio has been accused. “You really want people who are making good decisions based on their merits.”
And while he said de Blasio has tried to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis, Massey warned New York is in danger of becoming a haven for the superrich.
To prevent this he advocated more re-zoning and greater incentives that would encourage developers to build affordable housing on a large scale.
“We need affordable housing on a massive scale that [de Blasio] not talking about,” said Massey. “Not just for the folks who most desperately need it, but also for the working class folks, the middle-class folks because we don’t want it to become a barbell of super wealthy.”
While not entirely ruling out a possible future run for office, Massey – who remains a president of New York Investment Sales at Cushman & Wakefield – said he had no immediate plans.
“Those kind of decisions are for down the road, but I definitely want to be involved in the community,” he said. “The practicality of financing a campaign made things very difficult for me, but the experience itself was great. I met a lot of great people.
“I used to think I was Mr. New York based on the footprint of our real estate portfolio but I really go to know the city on the campaign trail.”
