Visionary Real Estate Developer Irwin B. Cohen ’58 Dies at 90

Irwin B. Cohen ’58, an esteemed graduate of Brooklyn Law School who had a visionary talent for restoring historic urban buildings and revitalizing communities as a real estate developer, died Dec. 18, 2023. He was 90.

Born to Ukrainian and Polish immigrant parents who could not read or write English, Cohen was the youngest of four children. He grew up and attended public schools in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and was the only child his parents could afford to send to college, as well as the first in the family to become a college graduate. His parents, miraculously, he has said, then paid for him to attend Brooklyn Law School as well. After earning a J.D. from the Law School, Cohen practiced real estate law before striking out on his own as a developer with a keen eye for historical restorations that helped beautify previously neglected urban areas, particularly in his beloved New York City, as well as in Philadelphia.

“Irwin Cohen exemplified the very best of the Brooklyn Law School tradition – a person of enormous talent who overcame barriers and hardships and went on to change lives and transform communities,” said President and Joseph Crea Dean David Meyer. “And he never forgot where he came from or stopped giving back to those who followed.”

In an interview with Brooklyn Law Notes in September 2023, just before his 90th birthday, Cohen credited his success in the business world to the confidence he gained at Brooklyn Law School, where, he recalled, he learned to carefully read documents from beginning to end and to exercise an eagle eye for detail.

“Without Brooklyn Law School, I don’t think I could have accomplished what I have in my business life,” Cohen said. “I have continued to love the school and it’s on my mind all the time – even today. I will be 90 in a few weeks and the school still has great meaning for me…I felt like it was geared toward New York, and it was a continuation of my love of the city. The Law School taught me that if you can do it here, you should do it here.”

Indeed, Cohen went on to have a successful career here in New York City, and to give back. His first client after being admitted to the bar in 1959 was his father, a story he recently recounted for Meyer.

“My father was negotiating a mortgage loan from the Dime Savings Bank of Brooklyn on Eastern Parkway,” Cohen explained. “Imagine my proud father seeing me in the bank conference room, carrying my then unused leather attaché case (my graduating gift from my father) and handing my just printed attorney business card to the bank attorney. My love of Brooklyn Law School, and my modest contributions to it all go back to that moment.”

He and his wife Jill, who died in 2017, were major supporters of the Law School, and their generous gifts include support for the redesign and renovation of what is now the Irwin B. Cohen ’58 and Jill Cohen Lobby, named in their honor in 2010. The Cohens also endowed the Irwin and Jill Cohen Professor of Law faculty chair, currently held by Professor Aaron Twerski. Cohen, who most recently contributed to a bar prep fund for students this year, explained that he wanted to help the school and students in whatever way he could.

As a developer, Cohen became known for beautiful restorations of old buildings that were historically significant, particularly decrepit warehouses and manufacturing facilities, and his vision helped to revitalize several urban areas.

His signature project is the 1996 conversion of the former Nabisco factory complex located between 15th and 16th Streets in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District into what is now Chelsea Market. The area around the complex spanned a deserted, rundown stretch of the West Side of Manhattan from Ninth Avenue to the Hudson River. There had been three murders in the basement of the factory, which was also populated by feral cats, and many thought it risky to invest there at the time. After bringing in investors to back his vision for an upscale food market, Cohen also had to convince tenants to open retail stores, and not just operate wholesale businesses in the then-desolate neighborhood. This turned out to be a winning dual revenue strategy for the tenants, who were able to rely on consumer revenues during times when restaurant sales declined for economic reasons.

Chelsea Market is now an iconic culinary destination, featuring small producer-retailers with a New York City flair, including artisanal cheesemakers, fishmongers, and butchers, as well as beloved local retailers such as Pearl River Mart. The market helped transform the area into a bustling art, cultural, and entertainment destination that now includes the popular city park, the High Line.

Cohen supported the development of the High Line, even though it went right through the property he was developing. In a 2005 interview with Center for an Urban Future, Cohen explained that it would benefit the neighborhood, including Chelsea Market, and that he was working closely with the Friends of the High Line to help make it happen. It was typical of Cohen to see beyond business transactions to how properties can help build communities.

“This is going to bring people to the West Side. It's going to open development of housing in the neighborhood,” Cohen said. “It's going to be an attraction. You're going to see changes in this part of the city that will be absolutely phenomenal.”

It was not his first venture into historical renovations. In the 1970s and 1980s, Cohen helped jumpstart the revitalization of the area north of Philadelphia’s City Hall by converting a former railroad terminal and warehouse into a mixed-use facility. In the 1960s, he developed large, underutilized warehouses into manufacturing and retail centers in Long Island City, including The Factory, formerly the original Macy’s Warehouse; the Center Building, previously a Ford Motor Company plant; and the Falchi Building, an old Gimbel’s warehouse.

Cohen started his career as house counsel to a New York commercial real estate firm, negotiating for clients across the country, before going out on his own. In 1957, while still in Law School, he competed for the school in the Eastern Intercollegiate Weightlifting Championships, winning the middle heavyweight division. In addition to awards and accolades for his real estate projects, he was honored by the U.S. Marshals Service as an honorary deputy for his work after 9/11 in helping to build facilities in New York City for government agencies after the Twin Towers fell.

Irwin, who was predeceased by his wife of nearly 60 years, Jill Framer Cohen, is survived by his three daughters, Cindy (Alan) Zuckerbrod, Cathy (Marc) Lasry, and Cheryl (Blair) Effron; 17 grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren. As his family notes, Irwin "was curious and passionately engaging until the last day of his life and leaves behind loving friendships beyond measure, including with Beverly Dolinsky."

In lieu of flowers, his family asks those who knew and want to honor Irwin to "please take a walk around New York," a city that made him into who he was one that he "helped make even better." Funeral services are set for Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023, at 10:30 a.m., Temple Emanu-El, One East 65th St., New York, N.Y.