Philip E Aarons

Philip E. Aarons graduated Columbia College in 1973, where he majored in art history and the Columbia University School of Law in 1976 where he was an Editor of the Law Review. Following law school, Mr. Aarons became an associate at a major New York City law firm where he concentrated in real estate transactions and finance. In early 1978, he was invited to join the Administration of Edward I. Koch as an Assistant to the Mayor. In mid 1979, Mr. Aarons was named President of the NYC Public Development Corporation, a position he held through 1983. Under his leadership, the company grew to become the City's lead development agency, overseeing projects including the South Street Seaport, the Marriott Marquis Hotel, the Joyce Theatre, and the Carnegie Hall Restoration. In late 1983, Mr. Aarons moved from public service and became President of General Atlantic Realty Corporation, the real estate subsidiary of General Atlantic, a privately held investment firm. General Atlantic Realty Corporation, in partnership with Christopher M. Jeffries, was a pioneer in the construction of low-income housing, financed through its linkage to luxury housing, building over 1,000 units of affordable housing throughout the City. In 1990, Mr. Aarons and Mr. Jeffries formed Millennium Partners to develop the $275 million first-phase of the major West Side development, which became a three building, 1.8 million square foot mixed-use development adjacent to Lincoln Center now known as Lincoln Square. The company has completed major mixed-use developments in New York, Boston, Washington DC, San Francisco and Miami at a cost in excess of three billion dollars. Active in a variety of cultural and civic organizations, Mr. Aarons is currently active on the following boards: Friends of the High Line (Founding Board Chair), Creative Time (Chair of the Executive Committee), PS1 Contemporary Art Center (Vice Chair), Printed Matter (President), The Museum of Modern Art’s Library Council (Chair), and Ballet Tech.