Elie Hirschfeld

Elie Hirschfeld (born December 25, 1949)^[1] is an American real estate developer, theatrical producer, philanthropist and art collector based in New York City. He is the son of the late real estate mogul Abraham Hirschfeld.

Career

Elie Hirschfeld started his career as a real estate attorney at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy. The son of New York real estate mogul Abraham Hirschfeld, Hirschfeld has developed properties such as the Grand Sutton, the Hotel Pennsylvania,^[2] the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Park Avenue Court, Sports Club LA Building, Manhattan Mall at Herald Square, the Gotham and Exchange Tower.

He owns more than 1,000 apartments and in excess of 1,000,000 square feet (93,000 m²) of commercial space in the NYC metropolitan area.

One of Hirschfeld's properties, an East Hampton estate which is worth an estimated $32.5 Million, was frequently leased as a summer residence by Bill and Hillary Clinton.^[3]

In 2014, Hirschfeld completed the fourth-largest Manhattan office leasing deal of the year, as ranked by square footage. The agreement with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency renewed the deal on 570,000 square feet of space in W. Chelsea.^[4]

In September, 2016, Hirschfeld bought a 40-unit mixed retail and residential building in the Yorkville area for $23 million. This 21,640 square foot Upper East Side property adds to Hirschfeld's substantial portfolio of residential units in NYC. ^[5] Hirschfeld also acquired a 7,058 square foot condominium unit, a triplex penthouse in the Marquand building, for $37.5 million as an investment property.^[6]

Philanthropy and arts

Hirschfeld created the Hirschfeld Foundation in support of education, healthcare, athletics and Jewish causes. He serves as trustee emeritus of Brown University and Long Island University, director of the United States board of the Weizmann Institute of Science, and trustee of numerous New York City hospitals. He has served on the board of directors and steering committees of several organizations, including the Jewish National Fund.

In 2011, Hirschfeld donated an additional $125,000 to Brown University, at that time making his total gift to his Alma Mater $1 million.^[7]

In 2016, Hirschfeld and his wife Sarah again gave to Brown University, with a $3.5 million donation to renovate and maintain the Judaic Studies building.^[8] In recognition of this gift, Brown University renamed the building the "Hirschfeld House." The renovation of this 108 year old historic treasure will help improve and ensure the viability of the Judaic Studies program long term.^[9][10][11]

Hirschfeld's art collection consists of the original art of world class artists depicting scenes of New York City. The collection includes Andy Warhol's "Brooklyn Bridge" and Karel Appel's "Untitled", as well as "Gingko Trees in Central Park" (2002–2004, Oil on Canvas) by Francoise Gilot.^[12]

Hirschfeld is also Tony Award voting member of The Broadway League and has produced and co-produced Broadway shows including the David Mamet play, Oleanna.^[13]

In 2016, Elie Hirschfeld supported the Adopt-a-Highway program, designed to encourage city pride and support efforts to clean and preserve the city's roadways. He adopted a portion of New York's Grand Central Parkway, stressing the importance, "Our roads are the gateways to our communities..."^[14]

Elie and Sarah Hirschfeld were honored to receive the 2016 Patrons of Education Award from New York's Park East Synagogue.^[15]

Personal

Hirschfeld is a 1971 graduate of Brown University. He studied at the London School of Economics and then graduated from New York University Law School in 1974. He is a trustee emeritus of Brown University.^[16]

Hirschfeld has completed over 100 triathlons, marathons and other endurance events ^[17] including the 2012 New York City Ironman Triathlon at age 62.^[18] He reached the best level so far on the international stage when he placed fourth in his age group at the prestigious and highly competitive AJ Bell London Triathlon.^[19]

Mr. Hirschfeld’s wife, Sarah J. Schlesinger, is a physician, researcher and associate professor of clinical investigation at Rockefeller University. Dr. Schlesinger is interested in developing vaccines that manipulate the dendritic cells of the immune system to prompt an immune response to treat conditions ranging from HIV to cancer.^[20]

In 2016, Hirschfield and his wife Sarah went to Rome to represent Rabbi Arthur Schneier and New York City's Park East Synagogue for the visit of Pope Francis to the Great Synagogue of Rome.^[21]

References

External links

• Hirschfeld Properties LLC
• Elie Hirschfeld Sports Center
• Elie Hirschfeld Foundation
• Elie Hirschfeld Art Collection
• Elie Hirschfeld Productions
• ElieHirschfeld.com