Benjamin Levine, the son of Douglaston Development founder and chairman Jeffrey Levine, has been hired to the company as project manager. In the position, Ben Levine, who is in his mid-20s, will be overseeing development work at the Edge condo project in Williamsburg and a rental project at 316 11th Avenue, among others.
The younger Levine has been involved with the family company since high school. During his college years, he began working construction at Douglaston projects as a summer job, and later acted as assistant super at a condo building at 325 Fifth Avenue. Levine majored in urban studies at the University of Pennsylvania and interned at Cushman & Wakefield.
Most recently, he spent about a year as an analyst for the real estate finance group at Credit Suisse, underwriting deals in the U.S. and abroad, doing work in London and Germany.
In his new position, Levine said he has been more “hands-on” with projects. He visits the sites of Douglaston Development projects several times a week. “I think [working as project manager] is very different in the types of decisions you make, and the impact you can make with those decisions,” Levine said.