Commentary: The Influentials

Long Island Business News, Dec 28, 2007

Ron Parr

Principal: Parr Organization

After beginning his career in home building, Ron Parr expanded into industrial and office development, creating millions of square feet in Yaphank and Ronkonkoma.

Instrumental in the revitalization of Central Islip, Parr continues to breathe new life into the area. His firm built Park Row, where 425 of the 450 units of the townhouse community are affordable. Parr, who redeveloped the 800-acre former psychiatric hospital property in Central Islip for the New York Institute of Technology, recently finished the new 182,000-square-foot Touro Law School there.

The Broxmeyers

Principals: Fairfield Properties

Rent collectors of the highest order? That would be brothers Mark and Gary Broxmeyer and Mark's son Michael, the trio behind Fairfield Properties, a fast-growing residential renter. Fairfield owns 5,500 apartments and, sparked by the demand for rental housing, the Broxmeyers have aggressively pursued multifamily properties all over the Island, buying over $100 million worth of rental housing here in the last 20 months. With one-bedroom apartments that start around $1,000 a month, Fairfield had affordable housing before affordable housing was cool.

Saul Katz

President: Sterling Properties

He's quite possibly the busiest man in real estate. As co- founder and president of Great Neck-based Sterling Equities, Saul Katz directs the company's day-to-day real estate operations. Katz also presides over Sterling's non-real-estate affiliates and subsidiary companies, which range from financial institutions to manufacturing, consulting, entertainment and retailing enterprises. Katz is also president of the New York Mets and their minor league affiliate, the Brooklyn Cyclones. If he's not at a baseball game, Katz, who is also chairman of the board for the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, can be found serving as a board member of several of the area's nonprofit organizations and institutions.

TECHNOLOGY

Seymour Liebman

Executive Vice President: Canon U.S.A.

Though it may not be a purely local company, since its parent is in Japan, Canon U.S.A. is a major Long Island presence. Liebman, a Touro alumnus, is in charge of regional operations and will oversee the much-publicized move of the company from its Lake Success headquarters to new digs in Melville. He's also a council member for the Tilles Center.

Bruce Stillman

President: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories

Cold Spring Harbor Labs is one of the region's headliners. A leader in genetic and disease research, and a major employer on Long Island, Cold Spring is still working to build six new research facilities. But, with the Iraq war sucking up some of the lab's funding, Stillman will turn to private investors through 2008 to secure the $100 million needed to complete construction.

Yacov Shamash

Dean, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences: Stony Brook University

Shamash, aside from running a growing department at the Suffolk university, is running two new centers that will cement Long Island's status as an engine for tech research and development: the Center for Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology and the Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center. Years from now, when LI is cranking out new fuel cells and wireless devices, Shamash will get the deserved credit.