Some local politicians have vowed not to take campaign cash from the real estate industry, but Queens Borough President Melinda Katz is bucking the trend.

Katz, who is running for the office of Queens district attorney, received a $25,000 contribution from Tyler Morse, head of MCR Development, the company behind the new TWA Hotel at Kennedy Airport. The donation was made Nov. 13, 2018, according to campaign finance records.

As borough president, Katz had an advisory vote on aspects of the TWA Hotel, as she does on many land use issues. In 2016, Katz gave a thumbs up to a lease agreement allowing the project to proceed.

Morse declined to comment on the donation.
 
The $25,000 contribution is 78 times the amount Katz would be permitted to accept from Morse under city rules because the donation would be subject to a strict $320 limit from people who do business with the city. That includes any companies seeking land use approvals. Even if Morse hadn’t had business before the city, the most Katz was allowed to accept from any single donor in her last city election in 2017 was $2,950.

Contribution limits for district attorney are considerably more lax and complicated. State law sets the maximum donation amount by multiplying the total number of active voters in the candidate’s party in the borough by $.05. The high limits most recently led to scrutiny of contributions made to Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., some from defense attorneys who wound up in court with the DA’s office.