Brooklyn multifamily titan Bernard Miller dies at 77

Longtime Brooklyn landlord Bernard Miller died of a stroke late last month at the age of 77, sources told The Real Deal.

The Borough Park-based investor and head of Parkway Realty Associates amassed a portfolio of more than 6,000 rental apartments over several decades, according to multiple sources. The apartments – mostly rent-stabilized units – are largely concentrated in working-class neighborhoods in Brooklyn and the Bronx.

A Representative For Parkway Realty Associates confirmed his July 20 death.

Miller was a member of the Orthodox Jewish community and was survived by his wife and three children. His son Eric Miller, who was helping him run the real estate business and served as a vice president at the firm, will now take the helm, sources said.

“Bernie was an extremely humble person and was respected by everyone,” said Dan Pollak of Midwood-based commercial brokerage ZP Realty Capital. “He had an excellent relationship with tenants, partners and brokers.”

Miller frequently served as a money backer and equity partner to fellow Brooklyn-centric multifamily investors Yechiel Weinberger and Shaul Kopelowitz.

Sources familiar with Miller’s real estate holdings estimated them to be worth close to $1 billion.

Prior to his death, Miller was actively acquiring properties. He was in contract to acquire an apartment building on Hawthorne Street in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens for about $18 million, sources told TRD.

In one of his last portfolio purchases, in August 2015, Miller and Weinberger partnered to buy four buildings in the North Bronx for $42 million.

Hiten Samtani contributed reporting