A little-known group funded by Michael Bloomberg vaulted almost to the top of New York’s lobbying ranks last year in an unusual shakeup during a record-breaking year for lobbying spending.
The group, American Opportunity, ranked second among all registered lobbying clients in 2023 with $4.7 million in spending, according to an annual report released Tuesday by the state’s Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government. The $361 million in statewide lobbying spending last year was an all-time high, up from $332 million the year before.
American Opportunity spent its money largely on television advertisements and social media campaigns boosting the agenda of Gov. Kathy Hochul, as she tried — ultimately unsuccessfully — to pass a contentious housing plan through the state Legislature.
The billionaire former mayor donated $5 million to the group, by far its largest source of funding, disclosures show. American Opportunity had ties to the Democratic Governors Association, with whom it shared an address and spokesperson, but representatives for the group offered little public information last year about how it came to be.
Bloomberg’s involvement was seen as somewhat surprising, given that he has focused more of his political spending on national issues and had not been considered a vocal ally of Hochul’s. Besides his $5 million donation, American Opportunity’s only other reported contribution was a $100,000 check from the United Refining Company, a Pennsylvania-based oil company and convenience-store operator led by the Republican businessman John Catsimatidis.
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