Long Island developer, attorney John Damianos dies at 67

John Damianos, an attorney and principal at Smithtown-based Damianos Realty Group, died suddenly on Feb. 25 at his home in Old Field, Long Island Business News reported. He was 67. Damianos served as a manager of property management and legal counsel for his third-generation, family-run firm, which Newsday noted was founded by his father, the late Dr. Xenophon Damianos, in 1968. John Damianos was raised in Stony Brook and joined the family business in the 1980s, directing acquisitions, leasing, operations and real estate transactions. His obituary said Damianos was also a board member of the Long Island Building Owners-Managers Association and the Real Estate Institute and was a recipient of the ABLI Developer of the Year Award. “John Damianos was a wonderful friendly man,” friend Marie Zere, a principal at Ronkonkoma-based Zere Real Estate Services, told LIBN. “He was always the bright light in the room. His love of gardening made all of the Damianos Realty properties outstanding and during the holiday season he would decorate all of their buildings inside and out, making the Town of Smithtown a landmark to drive through.” Erwin Staller, another longtime Long Island developer, died in early February at 97. [LIBN]