One57 developer Extell bought a $35 million tax break with $300,000 in donations to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, according to a story by Kenneth Lovett in yesterday’s Daily News. “Ayala Barnett, the wife of Extell Development President Gary Barnett, and three corporations affiliated with Extell … made 11 donations to Cuomo totaling $147,100 between 2006, when he was running for state attorney general, and 2008, when he held the post. But then Barnett pocketed his checkbook for four years. Come 2012, however, that changed — and so did the values of the checks,” Lovett wrote. “By May 2012, Cuomo was governor and lawmakers were weighing a housing bill that would directly benefit Extell with tax breaks that would save the company $35 million over a decade on a Manhattan luxury tower. In May and June 2012, Barnett and his wife made three donations to Cuomo, totaling $100,000.This year, four companies tied to Extell gave Cuomo a combined $200,000. As the Daily News reported exclusively on Thursday, two of those donations were made shortly before Cuomo signed the bill in late January….The $300,000 in Extell cash given to Cuomo since 2012 does not include $100,000 that The News reported Barnett gave to a state Democratic Party campaign account the governor was tapping to push his agenda. That contribution came on Feb. 19, less than three weeks after he signed the bill.” Isn’t that just extellent?