Commercial Real Estate & Advisory
Commercial Real Estate & Advisory
(New York, NY) – March 20, 2008, Sinvin Realty, LLC, with great sorrow announces that Sinvin’s co-founder, Bruce Sinder, who for over three decades transformed neighborhoods in Lower Manhattan through visionary real estate deals in SoHo, TriBeCa, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District, passed away from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (A.L.S.) on Thursday, March 13, 2008, at his home in TriBeCa; he was 55. The beloved husband to Stacie, father to Jackson and Reuben, son to Marilyn, and brother to Robert Sinder was laid to rest Friday, March 14, 2008, at Beth Moses Cemetery in Pinelawn, NY. Mr. Sinder was diagnosed three years ago with A.L.S., which is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
Mr. Sinder’s career was marked by many important contributions to Downtown Manhattan’s commercial growth. From selling converted SoHo lofts to artists in the late 1970’s to bringing Dean & DeLuca to its iconic corner on Broadway and Prince Street in 1987, and the vast list of placements since, including Balthazar Restaurant, Helmut Lang, Agnès b., and Adidas, Mr. Sinder’s collaborative foresight for the once industrial neighborhood of SoHo helped transform it into the thriving art, retail, and tourist mecca it is today.
He followed suit with TriBeCa, helping to shepherd in both creative and more conventional companies to a formerly sleepy part of town, revitalizing it for commercial development. His particular niche in office deals was with architectural and post-production companies; he and his team placed top firms such as 1100 Architect, Comedy Central, Blue Man Group, @radical.media, The Mill, Framestore, Lost Planet, and others into their edgy office spaces.
In the Meatpacking District, he negotiated such deals as Soho House, Vitra, Bumble and bumble, and Theory, which helped launch the area into an international shopping and nightlife destination. And on Bleecker Street, west of 7th Avenue South, Mr. Sinder’s deals created a fashion destination with multiple stores for both Marc Jacobs and James Perse, among others.
“Bruce was one of the driving forces of downtown real estate. He is one of the reasons why the neighborhoods of TriBeCa and SoHo are so rich,” said restaurateur Drew Nieporent, owner of Nobu.
Born on September 9, 1952 in the Bronx and raised in Plainview, Long Island, Mr. Sinder may have found his entrepreneurial style while still in high school. His father, Raymond Sinder, owned a luncheonette and during the summers young Bruce would rise early, go to the restaurant, squeeze dozens of oranges, and hit the street daily, selling “Juice By Bruce,” earning $50 by noon when he would quit for the day.
Mr. Sinder attended the University of Buffalo where he was a psychology major, graduating in 1974. A trained guitarist and pianist, Mr. Sinder studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He was also an avid sailor, keeping his sailboat handy on the Hudson River.
Along with his active real estate career, Mr. Sinder was a keen cook and restaurateur, opening a successful restaurant on Reade Street at the start of the Cajun craze in the early 1980’s called Bon Temps Rouler (“let the good times roll”). He later changed its name, and menu, to Spaghetti Western when the craze died out; Spaghetti Western is still managed and run by his brother, Robert.
After his Sinvin co-founding partner, Steve Levin, left the real estate field, Mr. Sinder spent many years running Sinvin on his own, with a small core group of associate brokers and salespeople. In January 2007, he partnered with then managing director Christopher Owles, launching a solid expansion plan for the company including a lease for new, larger offices. He turned the company over to Mr. Owles and Sinvin general counsel Michael Glanzberg in December 2007. The last deal for which Mr. Sinder personally negotiated before his retirement was for Steve Madden’s new Steven store at 355 Bleecker Street.
As his A.L.S. progressed, Mr. Sinder continued to go to his office daily aided by an electric wheelchair, play his guitar, and attend his son Jackson’s soccer games as long as he was able.
Please join the Sinder family and everyone at Sinvin Realty in mourning the loss of a beloved colleague, friend, family member, and pillar of our community.
Donations in memory of Bruce Sinder may be sent to:
Project A.L.S.
900 Broadway Suite 901
New York, New York 10003
A.L.S. Association
Greater New York Chapter
116 John Street Suite 1304
New York, New York 10038