NEW YORK CITY-He’s been called “one of the nicest guys in New York real estate.” Donald B. Kaplan, who from 1980 to 1991 served as general manager of the Empire State Building, died on November 11. He was 81. Cause of death was a brief, undisclosed illness.
In his nearly four decades of New York City real estate experience, Kaplan served in the various iterations of the Lawrence Wein, Peter Malkin, Harry Helmsley empire. In fact, he began his career working for the trio in the 1960s and, according to a Malkin Holdings statement, “went on to hold various executive positions overseeing the trophy Manhattan assets that the three acquired and syndicated together.”
Those assets included the International Toy Center at 200 Fifth Ave., where Kaplan took over as GM in 1967. “He was the mayor of the toy industry, and very much loved by everyone who worked with him,” recalls Malkin, who is chairman of Malkin Holdings LLC.
In the 1990s, for what was then W&M Properties, Kaplan took on the marketing and re-leasing of 1185 Avenue of the Americas, which the Malkin family acquired in the late 1970s and re-positioned during the early ’90s. “Don played an important role in successfully creating value at 1185, helping the building realize its full potential in the marketplace,” says Anthony E. Malkin, president of Malkin Holdings. “He was also an invaluable mentor to me and countless of our people.”
He is survived by two sons, two grandsons and a brother. In lieu of flowers or gifts the family requests donations to the Friedman Brain Institute.
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