Arthur Zeckendorf Jr. sues over automobile crash

Suit says grandson of William Zeckendorf was thrown from car near his East Hampton home

Arthur Zeckendorf, Jr. (Credit: LinkedIn)
Arthur Zeckendorf, Jr. (Credit: LinkedIn)

Developer Arthur Zeckendorf Jr., scion of the Zeckendorf real estate dynasty, filed suit against a woman that he claims “seriously injured” him in a car accident near his Amagansett, Long Island home last summer.

According to a report in the East Hampton Star, Zeckendorf Jr. was thrown from a BMW sedan that crashed into a telephone pole on Skimhampton Road during the July 4 weekend.

The alleged driver of the vehicle, Ilana Scheinblum, was found 20 minutes later standing near a gas station on a different road, according to the paper.

A patrol police officer found Zeckendorf coherent but lying on the ground and bleeding from his right eye. Zeckendorf was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for his injuries.

Scheinblum could not be immediately reached for comment.

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The lawsuit, which was filed February 18 with the state Supreme Court, claims the 26-year-old Zeckendorf is “entitled to punitive damages in a sum in excess of the jurisdictional limits of all lower Courts that would otherwise have jurisdiction of this matter.” It does not disclose the exact amount being sought.

The civil case, along with criminal charges, are pending, according to attorney Marie Ng of law firm Sullivan Papain Block McGrath & Cannavo, who is representing Zeckendorf in the suit. Zeckendorf declined to comment.

The lawsuit comes less than two weeks after Zeckendorf’s grandfather, real estate pioneer William Zeckendorf, Jr., died at the age of 84 years. Zeckendorf’s father is a principle at Zeckendorf Realty, along with his uncle, William Lie.

Zeckendorf Jr. is currently an MBA candidate at Columbia, and formerly worked at investment banking company Coady Diemar Partners, real estate investment firm AEW Capital Management and his father’s Zeckendorf Companies, according to his LinkedIn profile. He now resides in an exclusive residential building his father built at 15 Central Park West.

Correction: An earlier published version of this article misstated how Zeckendorf was injured.