The Manhattan skyline seems a bit sadder with the passing on Dec. 4 of Jack Rudin, chairman of Rudin Management Company and a beloved titan of the New York real estate scene.
Rudin was 92. Born in the Bronx on June 28, 1924, he earned a Bronze Star for heroic service with the US Army in World War II. In 1975, Jack and his older brother, Lewis Rudin, took over the real estate dynasty founded by their father, Samuel Rudin.
The Rudin brothers presided over office and apartment buildings valued at more than $2 billion.
While Lew was often in the public eye as a civic booster and founder of the Association for a Better New York, Jack did much of the bricks-and-mortar development work, including that of such notable buildings as 345 Park Ave., One Battery Park Place and Three Times Square.
But Jack was also a prominent philanthropist whose contributions included sponsorship of the original New York City Marathon.
Jack Rudin leaves behind his wife, Susan; son Eric, daughters Katherine and Madeleine, stepdaughters Inda Schaenen and Eve Schaenen, and three grandchildren.
His nephew William Rudin is the chief executive of Rudin Management, and niece Beth Rudin DeWoody is an executive vice president of Rudin Management as well as a collector and philanthropist.