August 13, 2008 >> return to MAI in the news
Weinstein deals in the beautiful life
By Bill Cresenzo
Jerry Weinstein
Founder, President
People chatter about the hipness of Brooklyn or the diversity of Queens, but in Jerry Weinstein’s view, there is no view like the one from Manhattan, because Manhattan has been, is and always will be, the place to be. Sure, the apartments here might be small – really small – but Weinstein, the president of rental giant Manhattan Apartments, simply shrugs
If people want to live in a big apartment, he reasons, they can stay in Ohio, or Minnesota, or wherever they came from. But if they want to live in what many consider the Capital of the World, you have to make a sacrifice. “People come here for the excitement of the city,” he says. Apartments are a place to sleep – the city itself is the living room.
As a kid growing up in Brooklyn, Weinstein longed for the bright lights of the big city. “The dream for me was always to be in Manhattan,” he said. And over the years, like the city he adores, Weinstein himself has seen several evolutions. He calls himself and “inter-disciplinarian/” He took up yoga in the 1990’s, he’s an expert in martial arts, he owned a record store in his 20s, got his master’s degree in philosophy and studied and taught eastern/western fitness at NYU. He’s also proud of the fact that he clinched the name “Manhattan Apartments” for his company.
Not bad for that kid from Brooklyn who wanted to conquer the big city.
After high school, Weinstein graduated from Long Island University. He taught school during the day and at night he worked as the maitre d’ of the clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.
“I didn’t want to be a boss like George Steinbrenner,” he said.
“When he would come down to the club, everybody started shaking. My greatest gift is that I run a business not by being a boss, but being a friend and leader.”
Weinstein got his degree in physical education and taught gym and science. He lived in Brooklyn, and at night, he would go to his job at Yankee Stadium. But something was missing. He was always good at finding apartments in Manhattan, he said, and decided that he wanted to use his experience to – simply put – make money. He got a job with Gardner Realty and was the top agent in the business for 15 months. “Then I started getting offers from landlords,” who wanted him to help rent and manage properties. His first office was at 23rd Street and Lexington Avenue, at the old George Washington Hotel where he rented out rooms that had been renovated into small apartments.
The business kept on growing and by 1996, Manhattan Apartments moved to its current office at 57th Street and Broadway (*update - MAI moved to a new location at 729 7th Avenue, 4th fl.). Today, there are more that 200 brokers working for Manhattan Apartments who work on four floors. Manhattan Apartments rents about 5,000 units a year and has a database of more than 3,000 landlords; for the record, Weinstein just moved in to a new loft apartment in Chelsea – and yes, it is a rental that he found through his own listings.
Most of Manhattan Apartment’s clients are new to the city, people in their 20s who are just starting out. Brokers charge the standard 15% of a year’s rent for their services. Over the years, Weinstein has navigated thousands of newbies through the crazy maze of finding an apartment in Manhattan. He prepares them for the shock of seeing tiny apartments with big price tags, and he reminds them that they did not come to Manhattan to spend their days and nights in their apartments. He also reminds them that they can decorate their pads to their likings. “The apartment might not be beautiful, but you can make it beautiful,” he says.
Weinstein says he has kept his promise to himself to be the kind of boss that treats his employees like his equal. No fancy office for him – his desk is in the bullpen with the rest of the brokers. Over the years, Weinstein added sales agents to his staff, but now, he said the company is “going back to the future” and will return its main focus to rentals. “We want to focus on being the greatest rental company in New York,” he said.
When he’s not focusing on his business, Weinstein spends time with his wife, Sara, whom he met on a blind date. They now have four children. His son Jeremiah works at Manhattan Apartments.