05.05.2009
Museum Trustee Larry A. Silverstein will be honored by the Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust at its 13th Annual Heritage Dinner on Monday, May 18, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. The Co-chairs of this year's dinner are Bernard W. Nussbaum, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen and Katz; and John E. Zuccotti, Co-chairman, Brookfield Properties Corporation. The evening will feature Dan Rather as Master of Ceremonies and a performance by virtuoso violinist Gil Shaham.
"Larry Silverstein is an important friend to have when seeking to build or rebuild in Lower Manhattan," said Robert M. Morgenthau, Museum Chairman. "We are grateful for his guidance and vision for the Museum and the neighborhood. We thank him for his devotion to the Museum's mission of renewal as well for as the professional expertise that he so generously shares with us. Silverstein's role as treasurer was crucial to the Museum's survival. In the early days it reassured the public, contributors in particular, of our financial stability."
"Of the many meaningful causes Klara and I support, the Museum of Jewish Heritage is one that is deeply important to us," said Larry A. Silverstein. "We worked with a wonderfully dedicated group to bring it into being over 10 years ago and remain committed to its mission. With its many exhibitions and public programs, the Museum of Jewish Heritage serves an enormously important educational function about events that shaped our world."
The Museum will host the Heritage Dinner on site, offering guests the opportunity to tour all exhibitions, enjoy spectacular views of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and attend the award presentation in the Museum's state-of-the-art Edmond J. Safra Hall. Among the exhibitions on display are Woman of Letters: Irène Némirovsky and Suite Française, extended through August 30, and Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges, on view May 1 through January 4, 2010.
Larry A. Silverstein is a Museum Trustee and President and CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc., the Manhattan-based real estate development and investment firm that owns, manages, and has developed more than 24 million square feet of office, residential, and retail space. In July 2001, Mr. Silverstein completed the largest real estate transaction in New York history when he signed a 99-year lease on the World Trade Center, only to see it destroyed in terrorist attacks six weeks later on 9/11. He is currently rebuilding the office component of the World Trade site and opened 7 World Trade Center in 2006, which is almost fully leased. The company owns and manages some of the most successful and high-profile properties in New York City. Properties under development include three office towers at the World Trade Center site, a Four Seasons hotel and residential development and Silver Towers, the largest residential rental development in New York.
Mr. Silverstein is a member of the New York Bar and a Governor of the Real Estate Board of New York, having served as its Chairman. Mr. Silverstein serves or has served as a Trustee or Chairman of a number of civic and charitable organizations including New York University, NYU School of Medicine Foundation, founder of the NYU Real Estate Institute, UJA-Federation, National Jewish Medical Research Center in Denver, and Israel Bonds. As a strong supporter of the downtown community, he has provided many local non-profit groups with space in 7 World Trade Center for special events.
Larry and his wife Klara Silverstein, who is the Hunter College Foundation Chair, have been married for 52 years and have three children, two of whom are executives at Silverstein Properties.
Violinist Gil Shaham is internationally recognized by audiences and critics alike as one of today's most virtuosic and engaging classical artists. He is sought after for concerto appearances with celebrated orchestras and conductors, as well as for recital and ensemble appearances. Mr. Shaham has made more than two dozen recordings, including a number of bestsellers that appear on record charts in the US and abroad. These recordings have earned prestigious awards, including multiple Grammy Awards and a Gramophone "Editor's Choice."
Mr. Shaham was born in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, in 1971. He moved with his parents to Israel where, at the age of seven, he began violin studies with Samuel Bernstein of the Rubin Academy of Music and was granted annual scholarships by the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. In 1981, he made debuts with the Jerusalem Symphony and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1982, after taking first prize in Israel's Claremont Competition, he began his studies at Juilliard. Mr. Shaham was awarded an Avery Fisher Career Grant in 1990 and the Avery Fisher Prize in 2008. He plays the 1699 "Countess Polignac" Stradivarius, and lives in New York City with his wife and their two children.
Dan Rather was anchor and managing editor for the CBS Evening News for 24 years, and is currently global correspondent for Dan Rather Reports on HDNet.
Larry Silverstein joins past Heritage Dinner award recipients Henry Kissinger, Ernest W. Michel, John Cardinal O'Connor, Gerald M. Levin, Howard J. Rubenstein, Irving Schneider, Robert M. Morgenthau, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Leon D. Black, Thomas H. Lee, Bernard, Anne, and Governor Eliot Spitzer, and Peter S. Kalikow and Bruce C. Ratner.