While Abreu touts being a tenants’ rights lawyer, he spent 1/3 of his short legal career working for Genova Burns, LLC—a firm that represents employers accused of discrimination and real estate developers. He left the firm to join Legal Aid in August, 2019—the same month he started running for City Council, according to campaign finance filings.

In June 2021, Shaun Abreu endorsed Eric Adams, despite knowing that Eric Adams was a former conservative Republican and and that Adams was already under investigation for corruption.

Outside interest groups spend big to help elect Shaun Abreu in 2021. The New York City Campaign Finance Board reported Voters of NYC, Inc.—a PAC funded by billionaire real estate mogul Stephen Ross—spent $18,521 supporting Abreu. New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany—a pro-charter school PAC funded by billionaire Alice Walton—spent $40,915.

In addition to this outside spending, Abreu has received an additional $9,000 in direct contributions from executives and lawyers with direct ties to real estate developers and investors since 2019.

Since 2019, the City of New York has been trying to push 250,000 public service retirees onto a privatized Medicare plan in order to cut costs. The New York City Organization of Public Service Retirees has been leading the fight against this privatization scheme. The Retirees—worried that the courts might allow their traditional Medicare benefits to be taken away—have been asking members of the City Council to sign onto Intro 1096, which currently has 16 sponsors—including Gale Brewer, Alex Avilés, and Justin Brannan, among others. Shaun Abreu has NOT sponsored this bill.

Shaun Abreu initially supported a bill that would provide rent stabilization for small businesses. But sometime between December 2022 and March 2023—based on archival records—he removed his name from the Commercial Rent Stabilization Act.

(The current version is the latest iteration of a small business rent stabilization bill originally proposed by Ruth Messinger in the 1980s.)

According to the New York Housing Conference’s Housing Tracker, District 7 only built 7 new units of affordable housing in 2024.

In 2024, Shaun Abreu approved a development at 701 W. 135th by Crosscap Holdings—a shell company for Castellan Real Estate Partners. Castellan had previously been placed under a state monitor because of its abusive practices as a landlord, having pressured rent-stabilized tenants to leave by illegally demanding citizenship information. Abreu approved this development after being lobbied by Crosscap in 2024.

This year, outside interest groups have been dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into propping up Councilman Shaun Abreu.

Uber has spent $145,943.07 supporting Abreu.

A pro-Charter School PAC called “New Yorkers for a Balanced Albany” backed by billionaire Alice Walton has spent $35,000.

Billionaire Trump-backer Bill Ackman has spent $22,014.21 through the group “New Yorkers for a Better Future 2025.”