Paul Milstein

Paul Milstein (May 12, 1922 – August 9, 2010) was a real estate developer and philanthropist.

Born in New York City he attended DeWitt Clinton High School and the New York University School of Architecture. The family enterprises began with Morris Milstein, who emigrated to the United States from Russia and founded Circle Floor Company, Inc., a wood flooring company, in 1919. Circle Floor grew and, after World War II, expanded into floor tile, acoustical ceilings and drywall construction. By 1960, Morris’ son, Paul, led Circle Floor to dominate the New York market, installing floors - and later walls and ceilings - in many of New York's best known modern landmarks: Rockefeller Center, the United Nations campus, LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, Lincoln Center, the World Trade Center and the new Madison Square Garden.

Paul Milstein launched the family's first real estate development projects in the 1950s in partnership with his brother Seymour. During the past six decades, Milstein Properties and its affiliates have been one of New York City’s leading full-line developers of residential and commercial property. Through various family controlled entities, the Milstein family has built or bought multi-family residential properties with more than 50,000 apartments, 8,000 hotel rooms and 20,000,000 square feet (1,900,000 m²) of office space. Their companies, Milstein Brothers (MB) Real Estate and Milford Management, manage the organization’s residential and commercial space. The family made its mark in Manhattan as Paul Milstein saw and seized the potential in numerous transitional neighborhoods. Paul and his sons, Howard and Edward, invested in large-scale building projects that catalyzed growth, development and revival. These legendary projects include:

•The area that became Lincoln Center, with three important buildings: Dorchester Towers,One Lincoln Plaza, and 30 Lincoln Plaza •East 96th Street with the Normandie Court Complex •Battery Park with Liberty Court, Liberty House, Liberty Terrace and Liberty View •Murray Hill with Windsor Court and Biltmore Plaza •8th Avenue/Hell’s Kitchen with a 1300 room hotel that became the Milford Plaza

The Milstein family commercial portfolio in New York City today includes: 335 Madison Avenue, Seven Hanover Square and the corporate headquarters of Emigrant Savings Bank at 5 East 42nd Street and 6 East 43rd Street.

In 1989, the Milstein family acquired Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives residential real estate brokerage. At the time of purchase Douglas Elliman had 10% of the New York City brokerage and managed 15,000 apartments. Howard Milstein served as Chairman for ten years and built the brand into a juggernaut of residential real estate brokerage and management in New York City, commanding 40% of the brokerage market and managing 50,000 apartments.

New York Private Bank & Trust

In 1986, the Milsteins acquired the Emigrant Savings Bank, which they built into the largest privately owned bank in the country. The Milstein family founded New York Private Bank & Trust in 2004 to serve the global needs of a financially sophisticated clientele of similarly successful families with investment advisory, trust and banking services.

Family Philanthropy

Paul Milstein and his wife Irma established The Paul and Irma Milstein Foundation in 1994 to lead much of their philanthropic work. Milstein Family generosity has made a difference at many New York institutions including: the Milstein Hospital Building at New York Presbyterian Medical Center; the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life and the Milstein Hall of Large Mammals at The American Museum of Natural History; the Paul Milstein Pool and Terrace at Lincoln Center; and the Milstein Division of U.S. History, Local History, and Genealogy at the New York Public Library.

Starting in the 1970s, the Milsteins provided capital to support medical research in interferon and, in addition to the Milstein Hospital Building (1988), funded the Milstein Institute for Surgical Science and the Milstein Laboratories (1992–1993) to conduct research in Alzheimer's Disease, diabetes and cancer. The Milstein family is also providing support to the National Cancer Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Rockefeller University, with the Milstein Medical Research Program.

Paul and Irma Milstein have given generously to the Jewish Theological Seminary and JASA (Jewish Association for Services for the Aged). They sponsored the Milstein Family Jewish Communal Archive Project for the YIVO Institute at the Center for Jewish History and established the Milstein sanctuary at Temple Israel in Westchester County. The Milstein family have been generous donors at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, naming the Paul and Irma Milstein Heart Institute at the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower, which will be dedicated in 2011. In addition, the family have been generous supporters of United Jewish Appeal (UJA-Federation) and the American Jewish Committee (AJC).

Irma Milstein committed a major gift to Cornell University and the Cornell University College of Architecture, Art, and Planning for the construction of Paul Milstein Hall – the new home for the university’s undergraduate architecture program. Ground was broken in 2009 for the 47,000-square-foot (4,400 m²) building designed by Rem Koolhaas and the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. Paul and Irma are parents and grandparents of several students and alumni at Cornell.

The Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate anchors Columbia Business School's top-ranking real estate MBA program. Established in 2001, the Milstein Center merges real estate education at Columbia Business School with a focus on capital markets, entrepreneurship and global business. The Milstein family has a long-standing commitment to education and youth. Irma Milstein has provided major support to Bank Street College of Education, one of the premier teacher training institutions in the U.S.

Paul Milstein died on August 9, 2010. Paul and Irma Milstein have four children: Roslyn Milstein Meyer, Howard P. Milstein, Barbara Milstein Zalaznick, and Edward L. Milstein.