Principal Myron Kaufman played an active role in the business he helped found over 60 years ago until his passing in 2019.
Mr. Kaufman had been a builder since 1955. After completing service in the U.S. Army, he began building one- and two-family homes in Queens and Nassau County and later moved on to larger apartment houses. In 1963, family friend Harold Basser asked Mr. Kaufman to become his partner in a new real estate development company, and Basser-Kaufman was formed.
Commercial real estate was the Basser family business and, though Mr. Basser passed away in 1982, Basser-Kaufman remains a family business to this day. Mr. Kaufman’s son Steven joined the firm in 1979 and his son-in-law Marc joined in 1991.
“We’re hands-on owners,” Mr. Kaufman had stated. “We have a personal relationship with most of our tenants, including the small mom-and-pop stores. Retailers like doing business with us. We’re easy to get along with, we’re family-operated and we pay attention to all the details.”
Mr. Kaufman was a longtime member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and served as the NY State Director for several years. He was also a former Vice President of the Long Island Homebuilders Institute.