ALUMNUS

Samuel J. LeFrak

Samuel J. LeFrak (1918 – April 16, 2003) was a noted housing developer who chaired a private building firm which had revenues of $2.8 billion, as of 1999. The development firm is best known for major development projects in Battery Park City, Lefrak City in Queens, and Newport, Jersey City.

Through four decades Samuel J. LeFrak led the Lefrak Organization, founded by his grandfather, Aaron, in 1905. Starting with five-story walk-ups in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, the company put up some 200,000 houses and apartments in the metropolitan area.

''I gave the people what they wanted, at a price they could afford to pay,'' he said. ''I took them out of public housing, out of the ghettos. I was the only one who put my name to it. I wasn't hiding behind a 'Realty.' ''

LeFrak grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Erasmus Hall High School. He graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 1940, with the University's LeFrak Hall named for him. In 1988, LeFrak was honored by the United Nations, along with former President Jimmy Carter, for global contributions through Habitat International.