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A reAl estAte MerGer And PlAns for More
JOHN GOLDEN
INSIDE
Friedland and Benson broker a deal
NEW CHIEF AT IDA • 17
FACES AND PLACES • 31
NEWS NOON
July 29, 2013 | VOL. 49, No. 30
King of copper-wear page 2
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By john golden jgolden@westfairinc.com
S
cott H. Benson hustled to a meeting with the mayor at Yonkers City Hall as he talked by phone about his new post in commercial real estate and the recent merger that put him there. Benson, who 25 years ago founded Benson Commercial Realty Inc. (BCR) in Tarrytown, this month merged his business with NAI Friedland Realty Inc. in Yonkers, the commercial real estate company founded in 1970 by Robert Friedland. The merged company, with 24 brokers and 10 office staff, will retain the NAI Friedland name and its headquarters will remain at 656 Central Park Ave. in Yonkers. Benson succeeds Friedland as president, while the firm’s founder will continue to serve as chairman. Benson said Merger, page 6
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Playland’s future takes shape amid turf war By Bill Fallon bfallon@westfairinc.com
The smiLing midsummer Throngs at Playland blithely went about their business last week while a hundred yards away, the fate of the county-owned amusement park and its environs got a splashy airing on the boardwalk. A bright-and-prosperous picture emerged, but it comes with a five-month ticking clock. If a festering legislative dispute is not resolved by January, Playland’s future becomes gauzier. As County Executive Robert P. Astorino sees it, he has brokered a deal – after issuing an RFP and receiving a Thomas Kallish, founder and chairman of Tommie Copper Inc.
Playland, page 6