SUMMIT One Vanderbilt, located near the top of Midtown Manhattan’s tallest skyscraper, was another highlight for Hanneman.

Mr. Cuomo, the front-runner in the mayoral race and former governor, has a long — and, his critics say, mixed — record handling important issues in the city.

Any corporate facilities director faces huge challenges. But Patrick G. Whelan, who retired this month after 44 years at The New York Times, oversaw the extraction of a 9,400-pound, Art Deco-style ...