Sharif El Gamal

Biography

El-Gamal was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Egyptian Muslim father and a Roman Catholic mother of Polish descent on December 23, 1973.

His father was a managing director at Chemical Bank. He lived in Brooklyn until age 9 when his mother died. He then followed his father to Liberia and Egypt where he attended the Schutz American School. El-Gamal returned to the United States for college, enrolling in various New York universities but eventually dropping out when he decided to stop pursuing formal education.

Lawrence Kopp, his public relations advisor, reported that while El-Gamal was not reared in a religious household, religion helped him struggle through a troubled youth.

Real estate

El-Gamal first entered real estate in the late 1990s as a residential sales broker but within his first year transitioned to commercial real estate sales. In 2002 he received his real estate broker's license. Before he began buying buildings in 2007 as an owner and developer, El-Gamal worked from 1997 to 2001 as a waiter in two upscale New York City restaurants, Fredericks and Serafina.

For his first real estate purchases in 2007, El-Gamal bought a six apartments building in the Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods of Manhattan. Two of the apartments have outstanding building violations and owe the city money. He manages additional properties in Chelsea and Harlem.

According to the company's website, El-Gamal founded his real estate company Soho Properties in 2003 in order "to focus on commercial real estate capital markets, advisory and retail leasing." El-Gamal's partners in the business are his brother, Samir "Sammy" El-Gamal, and Nour Mousa, the nephew of Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League.

In February 2014, El-Gamal announced a partnership to build a new home for the 83-year-old Garment Center Synagogue in Manhattan, as part of a 23-story retail center and hotel. El-Gamal said, “We’re in the process of buying one of the last untouched corners of Times Square... with an opportunity to secure the future of a synagogue that will serve the Jewish community for decades to come.”

El-Gamal teamed up with Murray Hill Properties for this project.

Park51

In July 2009, Soho Properties purchased property at 45–47 Park Place, located adjacent to the World Trade Center site, for $4.85 million in cash. Prior to being damaged in the September 11 attacks, the building was a Burlington Coat Factory.

One investor in the transaction was the Cordoba Initiative, a tax-exempt foundation with assets of $20,000. Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is the founder and executive director of the not-for-profit Cordoba Initiative and is the spiritual director for the project.

Shortly after the purchase, the property became an active overflow prayer space for the followers Imam Rauf's mosque located in TriBeCa. In May 2010, plans by El-Gamal and Imam Rauf to develop the property into a $100 million, 13 story Islamic community center and prayer space (also referred to as a mosque) ignited national controversy given the building's proximity to Ground Zero, where extremist Muslims killed nearly 3,000 Americans in the September 11 attacks. The project is entitled Park51, was formerly named the Cordoba House and some informally referred to it as the "Ground Zero Mosque".

El-Gamal envisions Park51 as "A landmark, an iconic building that will have people come and visit it from around the world." He repeatedly refused calls to move or cancel the project, stating, "This looks like it is going to be the most famous community center in the world." He rejects the controversy over the location of the property, stating it is "nowhere near the World Trade Center site... It is two blocks north of the World Trade Center site. In New York City, two blocks is a great distance."

El-Gamal does not hold Islam or Muslims worldwide accountable for the September 11 attacks, asserting, "I did not hold myself or my faith accountable for that tragedy." Viewing the project in historic terms, El-Gamal stated, "This is a defining moment for you and I and the First Amendment, and I see us passing this test as Americans."

In the summer of 2010, while Imam Rauf was outside of the United States, El-Gamal emerged as the public face of the project and portrayed himself, rather than Rauf, as the key force behind the proposed center. In July 2014, it was disclosed that El-Gamal controlled the site.

El-Gamal suggested that he will now construct a smaller, three-story museum “dedicated to exploring the faith of Islam and its arts and culture” at the same location.

Personal life

El-Gamal resides in the Upper West Side neighborhood of Manhattan. He is a member of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) of Manhattan located in his neighborhood. According to El-Gamal, the JCC served as an inspiration for the Park51 project.

In 2005, El-Gamal assaulted a man who was subletting an apartment from his brother, Sammy (one of his two partners in Soho Properties). He reportedly punched the man, breaking his nose and cheekbone. At first, El-Gamal said he did not hit the man but later conceded "his face could have run into my hand."

At a deposition for the assault case in 2007, El-Gamal replied "no" when asked if he was ever convicted or pleaded guilty to a crime, despite his previous arrest record. In 2011, El-Gamal owed more than $227,000 in unpaid real estate taxes. The tax issue and other suits have since been resolved.

Regarding his past, El Gamal said in a statement to the Daily News, "I regret many things that I did in my youth. I have not always led a perfect life... While I might not be proud of some of my actions in the past, I am extremely proud of the Park51 project and what it will mean to thousands of New Yorkers of all faiths and denominations who live in Lower Manhattan."