Janaki Chadha is reporting for Politico New York candidate for New York Attorney General, Democrat Zephyr Teachout has laid out a plan to target real estate interests, saying she is the only person in the race capable of keeping big developers in check. At a news conference held August 30, Teachout said If elected, she would increase criminal prosecutions of real estate crimes, use the powers of the AG's office to preserve rent-stabilized housing and direct fines and settlements from housing violations to help fund affordable housing. Her plan for taking on the real estate industry includes increased staffing of units that handle real estate issues and using a variety of legal tools to increase the number of 421-a tax fraud prosecutions, repeated tenant harassment, illegal conversions of rental buildings to condos and other practices. In response to Teachout's statements, Real Estate Board of New York President John Banks pointed out the real estate industry in New York City accounted for nearly $29 million in city tax revenue and more than 600,000 jobs. "We expect that the next New York State Attorney General will focus on those who violate the law rather than waging ideological crusades against one of the most important industries in the city and state," he said. Teachout, a Fordham Law School professor, is one of four candidates vying for the Democratic line on the November ballot, in addition to New York City Public Advocate Tish James, U.S. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and Leecia Eve, a former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Hilary Clinton. Read the full story at Politico New York.