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ABOUT ABRAHAM HIRSCHFELD
Abe Hirschfeld was born in Tarnov, Poland on December 20, 1919. Abe's father, Simon Hirschfeld, feared the spread of anti-Semitism and moved the family to Israel when Abe was a boy. Several years later, Abe enlisted in the Israeli Haganah, where he helped fight in the struggle for the country's independence. Abe got his first job working on a kibbutz orange grove maintaining hundreds of trees per day. Displaying his penchant for ingenuity, he developed a simple mechanical system which cut his laboring time in half. After his marriage to Zipora Teicher in 1943, Abe began manufacturing pots and pans fashioned out of the metal from old warplanes. When Israel gained its independence in 1948, he expanded his business to become one of Israel's leading post-independence metal importers. After moving to the United States in 1950, and continuing his metals business here, Abe made his first foray into the real estate business by buying and selling small properties. The first building he purchased was a five-story walk up on the east side of Manhattan. It was bought for $10,000, and sold three months later for a profit. Soon after he bought a site on East 30th street, demolished it, and built a parking garage. Over the next several years, Abe continued to buy sites and build parking garages throughout Manhattan. Ultimately, he built over 30 garages and became affectionately known as the "garage king" of New York City. In 1976, Elie Hirschfeld, Abe's son, joined his father in the real estate business. Together, they created a formidable partnership. Elie's impetus propelled the firm beyond the garage business into major new real estate development. Over the course of the last 30 years, the firm, Hirschfeld Properties, LLC, has been involved in a wide variety of residential, commercial and hospitality developments. Some of the firm's residential projects include the Grand Sutton, a 40 story luxury condominium tower at Sutton Place; Park Avenue Court, a luxury apartment tower at 86th street; the Gotham, a 300,000 SF luxury apartment building at 87th street; Exchange Tower, a 500,000 SF residential project on Broad Street; and Sutton Apartments, a 600-unit apartment building complex off Sutton Place. The firm also developed residential properties on Park Avenue and in the Lincoln Center, Murray Hill and Tribeca neighborhoods of New York. Hirschfeld Properties, LLC's accomplishments include important hotels such as the Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City's 4th largest hotel with 1,700 rooms, and the Crowne Plaza Holiday Inn at Times Square. Hirschfeld Properties, LLC manages and operates the Hirschfeld Parking Group, which builds and owns multi-story parking garage facilities throughout the New York area including locations at Yankee Stadium, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, Saks Fifth Avenue, Waldorf Astoria, Essex House and others. Throughout the course of his life, Abe Hirschfeld was fascinated with politics, and became a tireless civic leader who had close personal relationships with many politically important individuals, including Bobby Kennedy and Jimmy Carter. Abe worked tirelessly to make the world a better place. He spoke and wrote widely to espouse his ideas on local and national topics. Abe served as Treasurer of the New York State Democratic Party, as a member of the United States Electoral College, and a member of the Tri State Regional Planning Commission. He ran for U.S. Senator, NYS Lieutenant Governor and Manhattan Borough President. In 1989, Abe was elected City Commissioner in Miami Beach. Over the past decade, as Abe became more involved in the political arena and with his varied charitable activities, Elie purchased many of his father's real estate interests and is now the sole owner of Hirschfeld Properties LLC. Abe Hirschfeld's many philanthropic interests include his support of Bar-Ilan University, Hadassah Hospital, St. Luke's Hospital, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, the Jewish Community Fund, Jewish education, higher education and several other New York City hospitals and organizations. < Back |
