Edward S. Gordon Dies; Helped Shape Insignia/ESG

NEW YORK CITY-Edward S. Gordon, 65, has died. Gordon, who most recently served in the office of the chairman of Insignia Financial Group, was formerly chairman of the Edward S. Gordon Co., which he founded in 1972 and built into the city’s largest commercial real estate brokerage firm during the ’90s. In 1996, he sold his company to Insignia Financial Group, now known as Insignia/ESG.

Gordon was a two-time winner of the Real Estate Board of New York ‘s Deal of the Year Award. In 1978, he won the honor for the sale of 1166 Sixth Ave. to New York Telephone and Teacher’s Insurance & Annuity Association, and the following year for leasing that building to International Paper. During the mid-90s, Insignia/ESG was the first brokerage firm to win the Deal award three years in a row. Gordon was also president of Meyers Parking System, one of the largest garage operators in the US.

Earlier this year, he was named to a task force by Sen. Charles Schumer to identify development opportunities to encourage the expansion of business in New York City. Also this year, the Edward S. Gordon Professorship in Real Estate Economics was established at Columbia University’s Business School with a $1.1-million endowment contributed by Insignia and others in the real estate community.