Stanley Chera

Chera was born in 1942 in Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family.[2][3][4][5] In 1947,[2] his father Isaac Chera opened a retail store called Young World in Brooklyn, New York.[3] The family later purchased the building and grew Young World into a chain purchasing the buildings as they expanded.[3]

In the 1980s, Chera (then in charge of the family company) started purchasing real estate in New York City[2] at first as a minority partner and later in 2000s as the lead developer.[3] Chera was known for developing or "repositioning" the retail portion of his buildings and then selling the property.[3]

In a joint venture with The Carlyle Group and Charles Kushner, Chera sold the retail portion of 666 Fifth Avenue in two transactions for more than $1 billion;[6] and also the retail portion of the St. Regis Hotel in a joint venture with Lloyd Goldman and Jeffrey Feil for $380 million.[7] In 2010, he began the restoration of The Knickerbocker Hotel in Manhattan.[2][8] In 2012, Chera purchased 49.9% interest in a four-building Fifth Avenue portfolio that included the Olympic Tower for $1 billion from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.[9]

In June 2013, Chera purchased 650 Madison Avenue for $1.3 billion in partnership with Highgate Holdings from the Carlyle Group.[6][7] He was an investor in the One World Trade Center[2] and accumulated a lot of property in Red Hook, Brooklyn.[2] Crown is also a prominent investor (along with Albert Laboz, Joseph Jemal, and Eli Gindi) in the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn.[10] Chera had a conservative investment strategy borrowing no more than 25 to 35% of the purchase price[2] given that they are long term holders in assets.[3] In 2009, Crown held 15 million square feet of real estate in New York City.[11]

Chera and his wife Frieda, nicknamed "Cookie",[12] had three sons: Isaac "Ike" Chera, Haim Chera, and Richard Chera, all active in the family business.[3][13] Chera was a leader in the Brooklyn Sephardic Jewish community. Chera was an associate and friend of Donald Trump, and donated to the Trump Victory Committee.[14][15]

Chera was hospitalized for an unknown illness in March 2020[16] and later tested positive for COVID-19. Prior to his hospitalization, he had relocated to his home in Deal, New Jersey.[17] Chera entered a coma the following week[18] and died on April 11, 2020.[19] His wife also contracted the virus, but recovered.[12]

President Trump, in a recent Fox News interview[20], described Chera's death as having a high impact on his thinking:

"I’ve lost three friends. One, a very good friend, a very successful man, New York guy, employed a lot of people that were all crying over his death. Stanley Chera. He went to the hospital, he calls me up. He goes, “I tested positive.” I said, “Well, what are you going to do?” He said, “I’m going to the hospital. I’ll call you tomorrow.” He didn’t call. I call the hospital, he’s in a coma. Now, I know a lot of people that had the flu, they were never in a coma."