Leonard Grunstein
Born (1952-07-18) July 18, 1952
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US
NationalityAmerican
Alma materB.A. Queens College
J.D. Brooklyn Law School
OccupationManaging Member of Hanlen Real Estate Development & Funding LLC
SpouseChana Tambor Grunstein
ChildrenEli Grunstein
Michal Grunstein
Rachel Grunstein

Leonard Grunstein (born July 18, 1952) is an American finance executive, retired lawyer and philanthropist. He is Managing Member of Hanlen Real Estate Development & Funding LLC, and Hanlen Healthcare Development & Funding LLC. Grunstein practiced law for over 35 years before retiring from the practice of law, and is the founder and current chairman of Project EZRAH.

Early life and education

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1952, Leonard Grunstein moved to New York City in 1958. He would earn a B.A. in economics and political science from Queens College,[1] graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1972. Grunstein went on to Brooklyn Law School, where he earned his J.D. in 1975.[2] The following year, he was admitted to practice law in New York.[3]

Career

Law

Grunstein began his law career after graduating law school in 1975.[1] He was an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York and Counsel to the Mayor's Midtown Office of Development and worked as an associate at Herrick, Feinstein LLC, becoming a partner in 1980. Grunstein served as an Adjunct Professor of law at Cardozo Law School, teaching Co-op and Condominium Law. Upon leaving Herrick, Feinstein in 2002, Mr. Grunstein joined Jenkens & Gilchrist as a senior partner, where he negotiated the conversion of the Ruppert Yorkville Towers.[4] In 2005, he joined the international law firm Troutman Sanders as a senior partner, becoming Head of the Real Estate Capitalization Group. In 2006, Grunstein was retained as a lawyer for the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association.[5] In 2012, he retired from the practice of law after practicing for over 35 years.[6]

Business and finance

Banking

Grunstein founded the New York Federal Savings Bank in 1990 and the Metropolitan National Bank in 1999, serving as chairman of the board. He later served as chairman of the board of the Israel Discount Bank of New York from 2006 to 2007.[7]

Healthcare

In 2003, Integrated Health Services Inc., an operator of nursing homes, long-term acute care hospitals and other ancillary healthcare businesses, was acquired by Abe Briarwood Corp. with financial sponsorship from Cammeby's International Ltd., a real estate investment firm that Grunstein advised. Thereafter, in 2004, Grunstein was involved in a second nursing home company acquisition of Mariner Health Care, Inc. Several years later, a lawsuit sprang up involving parties in that transaction. Grunstein agreed that during his extensive civil depositions in the case, he made a false statement and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor perjury charge. The lawsuit was ultimately settled.[8] In 2005, Grunstein was involved in the acquisition of the publicly traded Beverly Enterprises, Inc., a large operator of nursing homes and other ancillary healthcare businesses.[9]

Philanthropy

In 2001, Grunstein founded Project EZRAH, a non-profit organization based in Bergen County, New Jersey.[10] EZRAH aids families suffering from the hardships of unemployment, offering job search help, financial aid and emotional support.[10] Grunstein has served as Chairman since its founding.[11] Grunstein has also served on the boards of several other non-profit organizations, including the American Friends of the Jerusalem College of Technology and the Genesis Jerusalem Institute. He is also on the Board of the Revel Graduate School at Yeshiva University.

Honors and awards

Super lawyer

With fellow members of Troutman Sanders, Grunstein was recognized as a "Super Lawyer" by Law & Politics in 2006. Mr. Grunstein was named an "AV Preeminent" lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, recognizing his high ratings in legal ability and ethical standards.[1] He has also published articles in The Banking Law Journal.[12][13] including an article on the "contemporary application of Jewish laws regarding the taking of interest."

Book recognition

While retained by the Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village Tenants Association, Grunstein focused on developing the structure and financing package that would help tenants buy the complex and keep their apartments affordable.[5] On October 21, 2009, the Court of Appeals ruled that Tishman Speyer, the owner of the complex, had no right to take the apartments out of the rent stabilization program.[5] Grunstein had uncovered an "arcane" rent rule that did not allow an owner to take apartments from rent stabilization while also receiving a tax break for renovations, called the J-51 Program. Stuyvesant Town owners had been doing so for years.[5] Grunstein's work earned him recognition in New York Times real estate reporter Charles Bagli's 2013 book, Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made.[14]

Personal life

He is married to Chana Tambor Grunstein.[15] They have three children: Eli, Dr. Michal Fruchter DMD, and Rachel, all graduates of Yeshiva University.[15]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Lawyer Profile". Martindale. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  2. ↑ "Leonard Grunstein Troutman Sanders LLP". JUSTIA Lawyers. 1975. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  3. ↑ "Leonard Grunstein". Avvo. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Brozan, Nadine (14 March 2003). "Residential Real Estate; Big Condo Conversion At Towers on East Side". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Eliot (27 October 2009). "Stuy Town's Columbus: How a Lawyer Rediscovered an Arcane Rent Rule and Shook New York". The New York Observer. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  6. ↑ "VOLUNTARY RESIGNATION MATTER of Leonard Grunstein, an attorney and counselor-at-law. (Attorney Registration No. 1231729)". Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. ↑ "Condensed Financial Statements" (PDF). Israel Discount Bank. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  8. ↑ Neil, Martha. "Former practice group chief at major firm takes plea in perjury case over deposition statement". ABA Journal. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Morrison, Mark. "Just Who Is Buying Beverly?". Businessweek. Archived from the original on January 20, 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  10. 1 2 "Who We Are". Project EZRAH. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  11. ↑ "Project Ezrah Annual Dinner". Michael Wildes. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  12. ↑ Grunstein, Leonard (June 2013). "INTEREST, RIBIT, AND RIBA: MUST THESE DISPARATE CONCEPTS BE INTEGRATED OR IS A MORE NUANCED APPROACH APPROPRIATE FOR THE GLOBAL FINANClAL COMMUNITY? - PART II" (PDF). The Banking Law Journal.
  13. ↑ Grunstein, Leonard (May 2013). "INTEREST, RIBIT, AND RIBA: MUST THESE DISPARATE CONCEPTS BE INTEGRATED OR IS A MORE NUANCED APPROACH APPROPRIATE FOR THE GLOBAL FINANClAL COMMUNITY? - PART I" (PDF). The Banking Law Journal. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  14. ↑ Bagli, Charles V. (2013). Other People's Money: Inside the Housing Crisis and the Demise of the Greatest Real Estate Deal Ever Made. Penguin Group US. ISBN 9781101609620.
  15. 1 2 The Jewish Standard: "Grunstein newest member of Revel board" July 26, 2013
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