Andrew Weiner and Peter Bernstein have a lot in common. Both are young, newly married and Upper East Side residents, members of fortunate families that are well established in New York’s real estate community. Perhaps it was inevitable that their paths would cross, as they did when they took on leadership roles in the Real Estate New Leadership Cabinet of Israel Bonds.
Now they’re close friends.
“A big aspect of Bonds is the relationships you build,” says Weiner.
After graduating from Cornell and the NYU School of Business, Bernstein joined the company started by his great grandfather, Alexander Wolf & Son, a 109-year-old general contracting firm. Bernstein oversees the field operations, sales and estimating and has renovated over $100 million in construction projects. “I was always inspired by buildings,” he said. “I wanted to understand them and how they got built.”
Now he and Wiener, who also works in real estate, are involved in building on many levels: in their careers, supporting development in the Jewish state and growing the Cabinet, which has seen membership nearly double in 18 months.
When Bernstein’s not spending time with his wife Jennifer and 16-month-old son, Benjamin, the Upper East Sider also serves on the boards of the Washington Heights Y and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and works on his golf and tennis game. He’s also been a member of Park Avenue Synagogue for 28 years and often reads the haftarah there.
“Giving back to the community is how I was raised,” he says. Five years ago he was approached by another Israel Bonds board member and asked to join the effort to get younger members engaged in the cause.
Wiener works at L&L Holding Company, LLC, which focuses on redeveloping office buildings. The University of Delaware grad, a Roslyn, L.I., native who grew up going to Temple Sinai there, has a 1-year-old daughter with wife Stefani.
Because so many of New York’s real estate machers are involved in Bonds, Wiener says it’s a way to connect the professional and communal. “We’re providing two things for our members: an opportunity to be committed to Israel, but also a large networking group. So you effectively kill two birds with one stone.”
None of the above: Bernstein likes politics, but sat out the 2012 election, unhappy with both Romney and Obama.
Teed off: An avid golfer, Wiener once got within three inches of a hole in one. He shot a 73 that round.
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