Bernard Spitzer
Bernard Emmanuel Spitzer was an American real estate developer and philanthropist. He was the father of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Early life and education
Spitzer was born to Molly and Morris Spitzer, Jewish Austrian immigrants from Tulste, Poland to New York's Lower East Side after World War I. They operated a print shop. Bernard received an engineering degree from City College of New York in 1943 at the age of 18. He earned a degree in engineering from Columbia University School of Engineering in 1947.Spitzer initially tried his hand at civil engineering shortly after his graduation from Columbia but turned instead to real estate development. Spitzer was based in New York City where he operated apartment buildings and built several landmark buildings around the city including The Corinthian, which was the largest individual apartment building in New York City when it was built.
Real estate developer
Among the buildings Spitzer has built are:- 1020 Park Avenue, a 20-story co-op apartment at East 85th Street and Park Avenue
- 1050 Fifth Avenue, a 20-story residential building at East 86th Street and Fifth Avenue
- 200 Central Park South, a 35-story residential building at Seventh Avenue and Central Park that is noted for its curved walls and a driveway that angles across the front of the building
- 210 Central Park South, a 24-story residential building next door to 200 Central Park South
- 985 Fifth Avenue, a 25-story residential building on the site of now demolished the Isaac Vail Brokaw Mansion
- 220 East 72nd Street, a 28-story mixed-use residential-institutional building—the first five of which are occupied by Marymount Manhattan College
- 800 Fifth Avenue, a 34-story rental apartment building at 61st Street
- The Corinthian , 57-story building occupying an entire block between 37th and 38th on First Avenue
- 150 East 57th Street, a 34-story residential building
In addition, Spitzer purchased several prominent commercial properties over the years, including:
- 730 Fifth Avenue, New York City, a two-floor neo-classical office building completed in 1921 by Warren & Wetmore and acquired in 1991 for $95 million.
- 2001 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 11-floor commercial and retail building completed in 2000 for $69 million and acquired in 2001 for $95 million.
- 1615 L Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 13-floor post-modern glass curtain wall commercial building completed in 1984 and acquired in 2009 for $180 million.
- 4800 Hampden Lane, Bethesda, Maryland, 13-floor commercial and retail complex completed in 1986 and acquired in 2011 for $90 million.
- 350 West Broadway, New York, NY, 11,000 sf, two-story, retail property acquired in 2013.
Philanthropy
- Anne and Bernard Spitzer Hall of Human Origins at the American Museum of Natural History
- Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at the City University of New York
- Anne and Bernard Spitzer School of Architecture at the City College of City University of New York
- The Spitzer Family Program Fund for U.S. Health Policy at Princeton University
Controversies
Also in August 2007, Republican strategist Roger Stone was accused of leaving this message on Bernard's office answering machine during the "Troopergate" scandal in which his son Eliot was accused of using state troopers to spy on Majority Leader of the New York State Senate Joseph Bruno: "This is a message for Bernard Spitzer. You will be subpoenaed to testify before the Senate committee on investigations on your shady campaign loans. You will be compelled by the Senate sergeant at arms. If you resist this subpoena, you will be arrested and brought to Albany. And there's not a goddamn thing your phony, psycho, piece-of-shit son can do about it. Bernie, your phony loans are about to catch up with you. You will be forced to tell the truth. And the fact that your son's a pathological liar will be known to all." Stone initially denied involvement but eventually resigned as a consultant to the New York State Senate Republican Campaign Committee, at the request of Joseph Bruno.