LeFrak history

The Lefrak Organization became a partnership in 1940 when Samuel Lefrak, Harry's only son, joined the firm, buying a piece of the business.

Although Sam Lefrak generally eschewed government-assisted programs, his organization built the first project under New York's Mitchell-Lama law in 1957, a 520-unit Brooklyn development that used low-interest, state-guaranteed loans and tax abatements.

Completed in 1967 at a cost of $150 million, Lefrak City included 20 18-story towers with 5,000 apartments.

In 1969 the company, over heavy competition, won the right to co-develop this ambitious state project on a mile-long, 92-acre site along the Hudson River in lower Manhattan, formed by landfill from the construction of the World Trade Center.

Lefrak and his partners were able to obtain FHA insurance, sell bonds to the public, and complete the 1,712-apartment Gateway Plaza complex, consisting of three 34-story towers and three low-rise buildings, in 1981.

Sam LeFrak's son, Richard, had been president of the Lefrak Organization since at least 1987 and was in charge of day-to-day administration.

By 1990 the Lefrak Organization had erected four high-rise buildings with 1,624 apartments and condominium units, a huge shopping mall with a multiplex cinema, and a 1,000-boat marina.

New York City's Department of Environmental Protection had, in 1991, moved into the office space formerly occupied by the Social Security Administration.

According to an annual survey by National Real Estate Investor, however, the Lefrak Organization had an apartment ownership interest in only 61,127 units in 1992.