As legislators in Albany considered expanding ride-hailing outside of New York City, Uber Technologies Inc. spent nearly $1.8 million on lobbyists and lobbying expenses for the first six months of the year, lobbying disclosures show.
According to lobbying disclosures filed by the San Francisco-based company with the state’s Joint Commission on Public Ethics, Uber spent roughly $377,000 on six outside lobbying firms. They included Albany-based Cordo & Co.; Metropolitan Public Strategies, founded by the former chief of staff to Attorney General Eric Schneiderman; Patrick Jenkins & Associates, whose founder is a close friend to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie; global law firm Dentons; Mercury Public Affairs; and Kasirer, a consulting firm. Uber also spent an additional $156,000 on in-house lobbyists between January and June of this year.
