At the 122nd Annual REBNY Banquet on January 18, 2018 at the New York Hilton, we will have the great pleasure of honoring Richard LeFrak with the esteemed Kenneth G. Gerrety Humanitarian Award.
While the many professional successes of Richard speak for themselves – his firm owns more than 40 million square feet of property across the United States – it is his commitment to improving his beloved New York City that makes him such a valued member of the REBNY family.
Richard has supported a multitude of New York institutions, but perhaps none are more important than his support of prostate cancer treatment and research. Thanks to a generous gift from the Richard S. and Karen LeFrak Charitable Foundation, Richard and his family established the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
The LeFrak Center is a high-tech medical center at the hospital which focuses on robotic surgical techniques for patients suffering from prostate cancer and other urologic conditions; additionally, it supports the treatment of several other medical areas. There are many patients in New York City who have received life-saving care at the LeFrak Center.
Richard has also served on the Board of Directors for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, donating even more time and resources to prostate cancer treatment. And the Richard LeFrak Young Investigators program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai aims to halve the time between medical breakthroughs and patient benefits in urology.
But Richard and his wife Karen’s commitments do not stop there – far from it.
They made major gifts to the American Museum of Natural History in 2012. As a result, hundreds of thousands of children from New York City schools and summer camps can visit the museum free of charge.
In 2013, the LeFrak family helped Brooklyn’s Prospect Park Alliance undertake its “largest and most ambitious project in the Park since it opened in the late 19th century.” The Samuel J. and Ethel LeFrak Center at Lakeside today gives New Yorkers a place to bike, boat, roller skate, and – every winter – ice skate, while enjoying the Park’s restored landscapes.
These are just a few examples out of a long history of philanthropy and humanitarianism, as the LeFrak Foundation has also donated to the Guggenheim Museum, Barnard College, and the Metropolitan Opera. The Richard S. and Karen LeFrak Endowment Fund also underwrites instruments for the New York Philharmonic. At the end of the day, if you’ve spent any amount of time in New York and experienced any of the cultural institutions in our great city, the odds are that you can in some way thank Richard LeFrak for enabling that experience.
REBNY is proud to honor Richard with the Kenneth G. Gerrety Humanitarian Award.
In other REBNY News:
Purchase tickets now for REBNY’s 122nd Annual Banquet. In addition to Richard LeFrak, we’ll honor the achievements of Rob Speyer, Charles Schumer, Elizabeth Stribling, Joanne Podell, Gene Boniberger, and Ron Lo Russo. For more information visit https://www.rebny.com/banquet. Contact banquet@rebny.com to learn about sponsorship opportunities or how to advertise in REBNY’s 2018 Banquet Journal.
Accredited by the New York State Department of State, REBNY’s professional education programs include qualifying courses to obtain a salesperson or broker license, continuing education courses for residential and commercial salespersons and brokers to keep their real estate license current, and special real estate designation courses with lectures from seasoned New York City industry experts. A residential or commercial salesperson or broker must complete 22.5 hours of continuing education credits every two years to maintain a license. Learn more and register for REBNY’s qualifying and continuing education on-site and online courses at rebny.com/education.
