VITAL STATS NAME: Elie Hirschfeld AGE: 64 TITLE AND COMPANY:
President, Hirschfeld Properties HOMETOWN: Great Neck, N.Y. CURRENTLY LIVING IN:
Manhattan (Also has homes in East Hampton and Sun Valley, Idaho)
BUILDING BLOCKS How much property does Hirschfeld Properties own? In the New York metro area, we have somewhere over 1 million square feet of commercial space and over 1,000 residential units. You’ve been involved in several significant Manhattan developments, such as the Manhattan Mall and the Hotel Pennsylvania. Do any deals stand out? Yes. Riverside Place is the development anchored by Trump Boulevard [on the West Side.] We originally acquired those 100 acres in 1980, and subsequently partnered with Donald Trump on the first phase of development. We then sold our interest [more than two decades ago], and the developers now are completing that project. How much did you sell for? Too little. How did you get started in real estate? I graduated from NYU Law School and worked at a firm called Milbank, Tweed and McCloy. Based on my [family’s] background [in real estate], I asked to join the real estate part of the firm. Then, in 1976, I decided to join my father [real estate mogul Abraham Hirschfeld] in his business. Your father was a very public figure, who took over the New York Post for two weeks and had a public feud with actor Jackie Mason. What was it like to grow up in his shadow? An honor and a challenge. He was always sweet to me outside the office … but he was very, very tough to me as a boss. He would basically say to me, ‘Get this done.’ And he’d give me very little guidance on how to get it done. Fortunately, I learned at Milbank Tweed that a boss has a prerogative to be demanding. And that saved me working for my dad. Your father served two years in prison for hiring a hit man to kill his business partner. What was that like for you, and is that when you took over? I had been running the business for some time before that. But that was a dark period. It was a very, very painful period — more so for me than for him. He seemed to accept it in stride.
What’s your response to reports that you and the Clintons had a dispute over the security deposit for your East Hampton home, which they rented? The whole story is funny because the real backstory is that the Clintons enjoyed two wonderful summers in my home and I very much enjoyed having them. It was absolutely unbelievable that the former President and the Secretary of State were enjoying my home two years in a row. They were very considerate; hospitable, warm and lovely. There is no security deposit dispute that I’m aware of. I have no idea how that story [got out.]
BOTTOM LINE What do you have in the pipeline? We have a few development sites that we’re in the very, very early stages of planning. We have two sites on the Upper East Side where we’re in the initial planning stage. And we also have a site in the Times Square area that’s in the early, early planning phase. The East Side sites will be residential and the other will be mixed-use. Your sister, Rachael, filed a lawsuit claiming you took advantage of your father’s ailing health to cheat his estate out of more than $300 million. What’s your response to that? It’s a painful matter and it’s very disappointing that my sister would choose this regrettable tactic now, 10 years after my father passed away. The decisions from the court have recently been favorable to us and we’re hopeful we’ll have a favorable outcome.
LANDLORD LIFE Tell us about a challenging project you’ve worked on. The development of Herald Center Mall. We partnered with Bill Zeckendorf and Larry Silverstein. [It was the late 1980s], and the market was beginning to get soft and the partnership began to suffer. So with many partners — all strong players — it was a challenge to come to an agreement of how to [deal with the problems at the property.] But we did, and we restructured it in about 1990. What is the best part of the job? Seeing my tenants happy. My wife [Sarah Schlesinger] is a doctor. Every time she sees a patient, she gets thanks and respect. We in real estate don’t get it as often. How often have I received a letter from a tenant that says, ‘Thank you for providing me a home’? Or, ‘Thank you for giving me an office’?
56 December 2013 www.TheRealDeal.com
You’re also a Broadway producer. How did you get involved in theater? I’ve long been a lover of theater. I had an opportunity through [Broadway producer] Jed Bernstein, who said, ‘Would you like to invest in theater?’ And I did invest in some Broadway productions [including ‘Equus’ and ‘Passing Strange’]. Even won a Tony nomination. You have an impressive art collection, including works by Andy Warhol, Ben Benn and Johann Berthelsen. What is your most prized painting? That’s like asking me which is my favorite child. I have a Thomas Arvid. In some sense, it’s my favorite. It’s not my most expensive piece, but it’s my first. By Hayley Kaplan
PHOTOGRAPH FOR THE REAL DEAL BY CHRISTIAN FERNANDEZ