Exclusive | Super PAC funded by Knicks owner spends big to back AG candidate Saritha Komatireddy
A Super PAC backing Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman and bankrolled by Knicks owner James Dolan is set to spend big in the race for attorney general, The Post has learned.Strong and Safe New York is tapping its resources to boost Republican AG candidate Saritha Komatireddy in her race against two-term Democratic incumbent Letitia James — with a series of billboards in the burbs touting the GOP nominee’s pro-safety and security agenda.The billboards will be displayed across Long Island, the northern burbs of Westchester County and Rockland County, part of a “seven-figure investment” to back Komatireddy’s candidacy, a spokesperson for the group said.“New York finally has a chance to restore safety and security by electing Saritha Komatireddy as the next Attorney General,” said Strong and Safe New York spokesperson Carson Steelman.“For too long, New Yorkers have been failed by politicians like Governor Hochul and AG Letitia James, who have pushed soft-on-crime policies and put their own political ambitions ahead of the safety of our citizens,” Steelman added.
“Crime continues to stay above pre-COVID levels, homelessness continues to plague Manhattan, and hate crimes continue to skyrocket.”Strong and Safe New York, which has thus far been focused boosting Blakeman in the race for governor over Democratic incumbent Gov.Kathy Hochul, is funded by Dolan as well as retired casino mogul Steve Wynn and others.Komatireddy, 42, a former federal prosecutor, has garnered a recent spike in attention after performing well in last week’s NY1/Spectrum News debate.
The candidate put James on the defensive over the incumbent’s support of the controversial cashless bail law and her record in fighting antisemitic hate crimes and Medicaid fraud.As a federal prosecutor in the Eastern District of New York, Komatireddy handled some of the nation’s most high-profile cases involving international terrorism, cybercrime, narcotics trafficking, money...