As he and Eric Adams compete for financial support from New York’s deep-pocketed business community, Andrew Cuomo is returning to the Hamptons on Friday for his first large-scale campaign fundraiser in the wealthy enclave since relaunching his mayoral bid.
Lucy Fato, a corporate attorney who serves as the general counsel of the Seaport Entertainment Group, is hosting the late afternoon Cuomo campaign fundraiser at her home, according to an invitation to the event obtained by the Daily News. Seaport, a real estate developer with significant holdings in New York and Las Vegas, is controlled by Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager and supporter of President Trump who’s the firm’s largest shareholder.
During the primary, Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid sexual and professional misconduct accusations he denies, was able to court most of New York’s wealthy donor class, including Ackman, who contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-Cuomo causes.
But since democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani defeated Cuomo by a 12% margin in the June 24 primary, that support has been in question. Among the defectors is Ackman, who announced last month he will back Adams for mayor in November’s general election instead.
Other power players of New York politics, like executives at SL Green, the city’s largest commercial landlord, are also opening up their pocketbooks for Adams, even as he continues to face political fallout connected to his federal corruption indictment.
Both Adams and Cuomo are running as independents against Mamdani, the Democratic nominee who’s polling as the favorite to win the November contest. As of the most recent filings, Cuomo’s campaign is sitting on about $1.1 million, while Adams’ war chest tops $4 million, excluding any outside spending by super PACs that may move to boost their respective bids.
Obtained by Daily News
Andrew Cuomo is headed to the Hamptons for a fundraiser on Friday. (Obtained by Daily News)
Friday’s 5 p.m. fundraiser in the Hamptons, whose other hosts include longtime Cuomo friend Jeffrey Sachs, real estate agent Jackie Lowey and dermatologist Macrene Alexiades, highlights how honchos in New York’s Mamdani-wary business community are still wrestling with who to line up behind between Adams and the ex-governor.
Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran New York political strategist who has launched an anti-Mamdani super PAC ahead of November’s election, said some segments of the business community are in panic mode over the Cuomo-Adams situation because they don’t know who to throw their weight behind.
“Many of them are waiting for the sky to open up and tell them what to do because they have no idea what to do,” said Sheinkopf.
Cuomo has pushed a proposal — first floated by fellow independent candidate Jim Walden — under which he and Adams would commit to dropping out and supporting the strongest candidate between them as gauged by a September poll in order to maximize their chances of beating Mamdani in November.
But Adams has dismissed that proposal and vowed to stay in the race no matter what, sending tremors through the city’s moneyed class, who worry the mayor and Cuomo will split the vote and ease Mamdani’s path to City Hall. In addition to Cuomo, Mamdani, Walden and Adams, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa will be on the November ballot.
The invitation to Friday’s Cuomo fundraiser urges attendees to contribute $2,100, the legal max, to his campaign in order to get “host” status, or $1,000 to be a “sponsor,” $500 to be a “supporter” or $250 to be a “young professional.”
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi didn’t return a request for comment on the event, but a source close to his campaign said the ex-governor planned to return to the city immediately after the Hamptons shindig.
After his primary loss, Cuomo formally launched his independent general election bid in mid-July. He has since started fundraising again, but the source close to Cuomo’s campaign said it’s not a top focus at this stage of the race.
“The campaign this time around has de-emphasized fundraising,” the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategy deliberations. “There’s no question the money will be there to beat Mamdani, but right now the focus is on pounding the pavement, meeting voters where they are and getting out the campaign’s policy agenda.”
Cuomo — who has hosted a series of policy-focused press conferences in recent days — didn’t secure public matching funds for his campaign during this week’s latest payout because he hadn’t yet met the requisite donation thresholds. Azzopardi has said he expects to meet those thresholds by the next matching funds payout in late August.
Meantime, Adams continues to be denied matching funds altogether because the Campaign Finance Board maintains he “has violated the law” despite a controversial decision by President Trump’s Department of Justice to drop his corruption case. Mamdani took home another $1.7 million in matching cash this week.
Mamdani coasted to victory in June’s primary after centering his candidacy on proposals for how to make the city more affordable, relying largely on grassroots donors, with the average contribution to his campaign clocking in at $88.
In response to Cuomo’s Hamptons fundraiser, Mamdani spokeswoman Dora Pekec accused the ex-gov of relying on “MAGA Republicans and billionaires” to prop up his mayoral run.
Originally Published: August 8, 2025 at 10:09 AM EDT