Arnold Penner

Real Estate Developer

Let’s start off talking about your background, childhood and was education a big part of it?

Education is a big part of every child’s life. So I started school in kindergarten when I was five and went through the entire elementary school and then went to high school and was told I should go to college and become an engineer. I was fortunate enough to get into city college…you know at that time you had to pass a test or had to have a certain average. I assumed I had either one or the other or both. I went to city college uptown for year to be an engineer…I didn’t really care for it. I then went downtown for business administration and they didn’t care for me. So I had no choice – I went to work. So I’ve gone to my childhood to my adulthood.

I didn’t realize how important it was unfortunately. Today more than ever college is so necessary to compete unless you can sing or dance or do something that the world will pay you for. It’s become immensely competitive. Education is so important for not only the educational process but for the sophistication process, for the social process.

Growing up, did you know what you wanted to be a real estate agent?

No I never knew anything. I always worked. I went to the candy store when I was a little kid. When I got older I got a job from a neighbor of mine on Wheeler Avenue who had a store on Boston Post Road. I would take two buses to get to work and I would work in this little home improvement store on Saturday and Sunday and I would rebuild sewing machines and put together showers that were going to the projects because they didn’t have showers. And I was happy doing it…I mean I was in either public school or in college…because I did that right up into college. I was always making money so I was having a good time making money. When I got married I was 23 so I guess working was more important than anything and making the money and saving the money.

So for you – working at a candy store, garage – did it teach you a lot about hard work?

Well, to me, it was not hard work. It was a natural way of life. It was fun. I was working the candy store at night but I would go to the garage during the day and take my car apart, and put it together again because I enjoyed it so much. I never ever saw working as fixing the car, putting it together, fixing the body, taking the engine apart, putting the engine together.. But I never ever ever saw my work as hard work. I’ve never said that. It’s working hard – but it’s not hard work. It’s different. I wouldn’t have any money if I didn’t work. My father and mother weren’t gonna give me any money. They didn’t have any money to give me. If they did, I wouldn’t ask them. So I went to work. It was…fine.

Was there any idea or having an objective to be successful or be wealthy?

No I had no desire to do anything but…make a living, buy a house in the country, have two kids and live the American Dream. It’s been anything but the American Dream. I got married, had two kids, moved to the country, I got divorced…changed careers several times and if you want to call leaving college and selling cars a career – that was one of them. I sold a car to a gentleman who was retiring from his fur business…he took me in to give me his route so I took over his route and I traveled from new York throughout the south selling furs, came back to NY and had a job in the fur business. A man came to me and said Arnold you shouldn’t do this – a young man like you should be in the real estate. Real estate business? – that’ for rich men’s kids. No, no, no I’ll get you a job don’t worry. He took me to Brown Harris Stevens and got me a job at Brown Harris Stevens. Brown Harris Stevens had a wonderful program of teaching us all phases of the real estate because it was a full service company with all the different departments – industrial, residential, commercial, appraisal. I stayed at Brown Harris Stevens for several years and that became my career.

When you first started out, what were the challenges you faced?

Well the challenges are really…competition starts immediately. You have to go out in the street as a real estate broker, as a…plebe. You gotta go out on the street and you got to canvas from door to door to find customers who you can move from one place to the other or who need a building to buy or something like that. You would be surprised how many young guys were doing the same thing…it’s even more so today b/c it’s a much larger market today but the rewards are much greater today.

So if someone wants to be successful in this business what does it take?

Well takes a job. He had to get a job. And he has to work hard. In real estate, if you really work hard and have direction you must succeed…you must. It doesn’t mean you’re going to succeed and be the richest guy on the street but you’ll make yourself a very good living.

Why is it important for you to give back to the community?

I have no idea why its been important to me to give back – to be philanthropic. It makes me so happy. So if it makes me so happy that maybe the reason I do it. Maybe its my guilt that I have too much that I shouldn’t keep it and make sure I give it a way. I don’t know what it is. But it’s so rewarding to be able to give your money away, your time away, your effort away to help people to do things to try and make a better life for other people…to try and make a better world for all of us. If you have more money than you need then you could make so many other people happy. Its just wonderful.