Generations continue appraisal tradition

Real Estate Weekly, Jan 5, 2000 by Lois Weiss

Throughout e last century, the Levy family has bee serving New York City's real estate community in many ways. Today, Appraiser and Planners, Inc. boasts three generations of family members who are active principals in the company, as well as an extended family of appraisers who have been part of the staff for more than 20 years.

Although the firm now concentrates on the valuation of property, it offers a wide array of services including feasibility, studies, zoning evaluation, highest and best use analyses, and expert testimony in legal proceedings.

Firm members; including Edward Levy, his son James L. Levy and granddaughter Caren Levy Greenhouse, have appraised buildings ranging from the 101-store Empire State Building to single-family homes, and in general, cover a territory that includes five states as well as the metropolitan area.

Their portfolio appraisals often comprise buildings all across the country and they have valued the Warner Brothers movie studios in California, major hotels, resorts, conference centers, golf courses, shopping centers, office complexes and apartment buildings, among others.

They also provide expert testimony for estate tax, real estate tax certiorari and condemnation proceedings and many other valuation matters including asset management, reorganization cases equitable distribution, mortgage financing and portfolio analyses.

Throughout the last 110 years, the Levys have been involved in many facets of the real estate business, from construction to management, but the thread of property valuation and appraisal has been woven throughout by the hard work and perseverance of the generations.

Shortly after she joined Appraisers and Planners in 1996, one of Caren Levy Greenhouse's-assignments was very unusual.

She was to inspect an apartment-building that her great grandfather, David Kadansky and her grandfather, Edward Levy, had built almost 70 years earlier. Caren and Edward Levy, who supervised construction of the building as a young man, worked on the assignment together.

"The building was full of family history," said Greenhouse, who was awed by the experience of walking through the large East Side apartment building built by her family. Now, 70 years later, she was working on the appraisal of the property.

It is of historical significance that it was Caren's great-great grandfathers who created the family real estate business in this country.

Edward Levy's maternal grandfather, David Kidansky, was born in Russia in the mid-19th Century. His paternal grandfather, Moses Levy, came to the United States from Germany in 1842.

The New York history of the Levy and Kidansky families began in 1890 when David Kidansky and Louis J. Levy, Edward Levy's father, engaged in the construction of hundreds of multi-family residential properties in the thriving city.

The "Old Law Tenement" legislation of 1905 precipitated a building boom that generated over 20,000 apartment units each year for more than two decades, a feat not since, replicated. The Kidansky/Levy families were among those who participated in this historical time.

In 1923, Edward's father Louis J. Levy, died and the then 15-year old joined with his older brother, Morris, visiting their construction sites and supervising the work.

At the time, the Levy's lawyer also represented the Greenwich Savings Bank, which held more than 360 mortgages on city properties.

"During the Depression, the bank asked me to inspect their buildings, check their physical condition and estimate their prospective value," recalled Edward Levy. "And that started me in the appraisal field."

As builders, the Levys were well-versed in the cost of construction of the various types of buildings, so when challenges were filed against the city's property tax assessments, lawyers representing New York City looked to them for help in valuing the properties. The Levys represented the City's largest owners and worked with all of the leading practitioners in this field.

In the early 1960's, Jim Levy joined the firm. As Jim recalls, "I was a trainee at Williams Real Estate Co. earning $35 a week and taking home $29.81. My father and uncle needed more help and they offered me $150 a week, so I joined them."

By then, the real estate business had become more sophisticated. Initially, Jim worked in the management and leasing departments of the firm, which provided an important foundation for his continuing education in the appraisal field. He enrolled in the programs of the American Society of Appraisers and the Society of Real Estate Appraisers, which later merged into the Appraisal Institute that now confers the MAI designation, the highest professional title in the field.

Today, Jim Levy holds the MAI designation and is also certified in New York State, among numerous others. Several other members of Appraisers and Planners are also MAI-designated and state certified. All are skilled in the use of the most up-to-date real estate software programs.

It was in 1964, with five appraisers on staff, that the Levys changed the name of the firm to Appraisers and Planners, Inc., reflecting the progression of the business and the climate of the market.