Industry mourns loss of Jack Weprin.

The real estate industry is mourning another of its favorite sons, Jack Weprin: lawyer, owner, gambler, teaser, philanthropist, restaurateur and raconteur, who died Sunday morning, March 10th from a heart attack.

Weprin was week-ending at Kutchers Country Club in Kiamesha Lake with a group from the West Side temple he helped found when he began to feel unwell. He was rushed to the local hospital and died there that morning at 10 a.m.

With twinkling eyes and a cheerful mischievous smile peeking through his white beard, Weprin led a life of hard work as well as hard play.

He was known as the "consummate deal-maker" who often celebrated closings at the Bridge Cafe he owned in Lower Manhattan with his wife of over 40 years, Jane.

Arriving at his Times Square office by 7:30 a.m. each morning, he shed his shoes and tie for the day. He used those early hours for what he called his "psychiatric hour," when clients would call to chat and touch base. And by 9 a.m., he was ready to order lunch.

"There has to be a feeling with the clients, otherwise there is no great satisfaction," he told REW in an October 1993 interview.

He also said at that time, "...if a deal is to be made, it has to be beneficial to both sides... You protect the client, but the most important thing is to make the deal."

Weprin enjoyed making deals so much, he sometimes participated with his clients, as well as friends.

And those deals sometimes turned into investments in horses and weekly trips to Atlantic City.

"My wife said I can go as much as I want as long as I come home at night," he told REW, then adding, "She hates it."

But as hard as Weprin played craps - and he usually won - he ensured the State of Israel got its due. He made several trips to Israel and was active in Jewish organizations ranging from B'nai B'rith to UJA to CLAL.

He is a founder and was "Man of the Year" of CLAL (Center for Learning and Leadership). This is a nationwide Jewish study organization where Weprin took classes, and as a vice president, ran its annual affair.

He is a past president and honoree of B'nai B'rith Real Estate Chapter. He was honored by the Lubavitch Youth Organization and is a supporter of the Reconstructionist American College.

Working with the real estate divisions of the United Jewish Appeal-Federation, Weprin lead missions to Israel and Romania and was also honored by that group.

From his interest in ancient glass collecting, Weprin became active with and was on the board of directors of the American Friends of the Israel Museum.

He served on the board of directors of the publicly-traded Builders Transport Inc. and of the Third Avenue Value Fund.

Over the last year, he cajoled industry executives to fund the purchase and renovation of a former city library building on Amsterdam Avenue and 67th Street that will soon become the meeting site for the West Side Synagogue. This is a reconstructionist temple that he and Jane helped found.

Weprin's funeral at the Riverside on Tuesday, March 12th was attended by an overflow crowd numbering hundreds of warshippers, many of whom stood in the cold and listened to the service from outside.

Newmark's Chair and CEO, Aaron Gural, who was partners with Weprin as well as a client for about 30 years, recalled him fondly.

"He was one of the greatest guys in the business and a wonderful man to be in a deal with. I loved him. He was good, honest, sincere and we'll miss him."

Appraiser Jerry Haims, head of Haims Realty, said "Jack was a friend to all of us and a friend to the industry, and we in the appraisal industry will miss his advice and counsel."

Weprin was also a Director of the Real Estate Tax Review Bar Association and last year's president was Weprin's partner, Arnold I. Mazel. "He was my mentor," said Mazel. "He taught me everything I know about real estate."

Norman Buchbinder, a partner with Buchbinder & Warren, continued on that theme. "His clients are at a loss looking for advice and their new mentor," Buchbinder observed sadly.

They were in many deals together and comprised two of the "Four Stars" that included Dave Yagoda and Zohar Ben-Dov. When the group bought properties, Buchbinder said they might use the Four Kings moniker in Brooklyn or Four Queens in that borough, or variations on the heavens.

"Zohar used to call Jack 'God,' because everyone turned to him for advice," recalled Buchbinder. "I couldn't get myself to call him 'God,' but called him 'Zeuss.'"

Buchbinder said Weprin enjoyed going to the races "but we never enjoyed winning." Their stable was named the Hundred Horn Stable - after the craps bet, while their remaining horse is called Fit For Nothing.

"We had a sense of humor with our losses," Buchbinder said of their fleeting - but not fleet - investment.

But Buchbinder said Weprin was an excellent gambler because "he knew how to handle money at the craps table. He used it as a catharsis."

And if Weprin won, he kept returning to that casino, but once he lost, he moved on to the next. "He had a zest for life," added Buchbinder.

Weprin and Jane lived in a Greenwich Village brownstone where a stuffed gorilla stood guard and now sits shiva in the window.

Weprin grew up in East New York. He attended Brooklyn College and then continued with Brooklyn Law School at night while working for a tax certiorari firm during the day. Today, Goldberg Weprin & Ustin, the boutique law firm he founded, continues with transactions, mortgaging law and valuation proceedings.

Weprin's brother, the Hon. Saul Weprin, was Speaker of the New York State Assembly when he died two years ago and his son, Mark, now holds that Assembly seat.

Jack Weprin would have turned 66 in September. He is survived by wife Jane, daughter Julie Abedin, three sons, Michael, Andrew and Adam, and five grandchildren.

"I already have a picture up and he will never be forgotten," said Buchbinder, echoing the sentiments of many in the real estate industry and legal profession. "Jack Weprin was my friend and I loved him."