New York City: CEO’s $10 million bonus sounds nice, but it’s likely illegal

Tuesday, January 7, 2025 4:42 PM
  • Jason Beeferman, Politico

Marc Holliday, the CEO of real estate giant SL Green, has a $10 million bonus dangling in front of him.

But the arrangement for the massive cash windfall is likely illegal, according to lobbying experts.

Holliday — who helms the company partnering with Jay-Z to win one of three available downstate gaming licenses to open a casino — is due for a “one-time cash bonus” of $10,000,000 if SL Green’s Times Squaresite is “converted into a hotel/casino,” regulatory filings show.

There’s just one problem. Experts told POLITICO the bonus flies in the face of lobbying law, and is likely criminal.

“If he’s a registered lobbyist and he can get a contingent fee of any amount of money as a result of his lobbying effort, that would be a violation of the lobby act,” said David Grandeau, who served as the executive director of the state’s lobbying commission for over a decade.