They had used that power to restrict municipalities on things like rent control and eviction protections, and now some meaningful regulation looks set to pass, and they are upset.

F%$# them:

Less than a day after newly emboldened Democratic lawmakers announced bills that would significantly tighten tenant protections, prominent real estate developers got Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on the phone to make a last-ditch plea to persuade him to block the measures.

………

They and their counterparts in the real estate industry have donated millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Mr. Cuomo and other state politicians in recent decades.

But on Wednesday, Mr. Cuomo rebuffed the developers, telling them that “they should call their legislators if they want to do something about it,” said a person briefed on the call, which lasted about 15 minutes.

The phone call capped a humiliating moment for an industry that had long reigned in the state capital.

………

The bills announced on Tuesday night by the Democratic leaders of the State Senate and the Assembly would abolish rules that let building owners deregulate apartments and close loopholes that permit them to raise rents.

The legislation would directly impact almost one million rent-regulated apartments in New York City, which account for more than 40 percent of the city’s rental stock, and allow other municipalities statewide beyond New York City and its suburbs to adopt their own regulations.

Real estate industry groups said the bills would do serious damage to housing in the city by reducing incentives for landlords to renovate existing apartments and to build affordable new ones.

Existing rent laws expire on Saturday. The rent regulation package, which is expected to be approved before the end of the week, is perhaps the most resonant symbol of the change in power in Albany since Democrats took complete control in November.

Republicans had dominated the State Senate for most of the last century and formed a close alliance with the New York City real estate industry, which donated heavily to Republican senators.

The elections in November not only brought Democrats to power in the State Senate, but also saw the rise of progressive lawmakers who fiercely opposed real estate interests.

These guys have been profiting through their political connections pretty much since the Donald Trump was in diapers.

It’s time for a change.