Steve Rubell was born in New York City on Dec. 2, 1943. He was raised in a Jewish household in Brooklyn, and he went on to study finance at Syracuse University. There, he met Ian Schrager, a fellow member of the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. In the mid-1970s, he teamed up with his old friend Schrager and entered the burgeoning disco market. "We just decided, ‘Hey, let’s try and do a nightclub.'” While the club only operated for a few short years in its original form, Studio 54 h

NEW YORK CITY, MAR 31 2026 — Held by links of friendship together , the Sammy Tri-State Business Networking Dinner Group just convened our second meeting of the year. Thirteen Sammies broke bread and built business bonds at Royal 35 Steakhouse . Pre-game cocktails and cigars started outside on the patio at 5pm on this balmy 73 degree day. We took the party upstairs to our private room at 6:08pm for extended schmoozing before sitting for dinner. Dessert was plated at 8:45 bef

Our next Sammy Tri-State Business Networking Dinner is the last Tuesday of the month, 6pm March 31st, 2026. Venue is our usual private room at Royal 35 Steakhouse , conveniently located near Penn Station and Grand Central. Non-members: kindly RSVP to SammyTriState (at) Gmail(dot)com to request an invitation and pay your guest fee. What is the business dinner group? Click a linked blog article below for details. ###

NEW YORK, NY , March 17, 2026 — Fra Jake Krassner (Sigma Zeta, Indiana University) of LEFT LANE Development presented at this month's Commercial RE and Finance Roundtable, an intimate industry forum. The event was well-received by an eclectic mix of industry professionals. The case study presented was LEFT LANE'S Hotel Bardo in Pittsburgh . This adaptive reuse project converts the existing 40-story Gulf Tower – an Art Deco architectural icon. This luxury, mixed-use urban de

Hosted by Fra Gabe Sakellaridis (Stony Brook) of Noble Wealth Advisors, " AI + Future Generations " is an interactive workshop focused on exploring the broad, complicated impact of AI. Presented by Fra Dr. Eric Abrams (Stony Brook), author of Teaching Literature with Artificial Intelligence and Clinical Lecturer at Iona University, this session will provide attendees with an overview of the capabilities and limitations of AI technologies, while exploring what AI could (or w

QUEENS, NY , March 16, 2026 — Sigma Alpha Mu Alumni Club congratulates Sammy Tri-Stater Fra Ira Goldstein for being named to the Queens Power 100 List, for the second year in a row. Clocking in at # 73, Ira is in good company among NYC's movers, shakers and deal-makers. Ira is Executive Director for the Black Car Fund. He re-founded Nu Chapter (one of 17 re-founding fathers) in 1982 at the University at Buffalo and served as the first Prior. Complete list of the Queens Power

NEW YORK, NY , March 11, 2026 — Fra Jake Krassner (Sigma Zeta, Indiana University) will be the distinguished guest speaker at this month's Commercial RE and Finance Series, hosted by Kenneth Volandes, Esq. of Washington George Volandes PLLC. The event is a roundtable format with a case study presentation. Jake volunteers on the SAM National Properties Board and is a Sammy Tri-State Business Dinner Club member. This speaking engagement was secured through the Sammy Tri-State

The 2026 Sammy Tri-State Business Networking Dinner Group is off to an auspicious start.

Our next Sammy Tri-State Business Networking Dinner is the last Tuesday of the month, 6pm January 27th, 2026. Venue is our usual private room at Royal 35 Steakhouse , conveniently located near Penn Station and Grand Central. Non-members: kindly RSVP to SammyTriState (at) Gmail(dot)com to request an invitation and pay your guest fee. What is the business dinner group? Click a linked blog article below for details. ###

The Lambda Alpha International land economics society held their new member induction dinner on January 15th, 2026 at the Penn Club. Among the new members inducted to the NYC chapter was Sammy Tri-State member Fra Michael Kawochka. He joins other long-time LAI members and Sammy Tri-Staters Jeff Beal (Past President), Scott Bloom (Board member), Anthony "Tony Trans-Am" Berti (Treasurer) and Derek Tynen. By no means was this a Sammy Tri-State event, but Sammies do figure pro

The Sammy TriState Business Networking Dinner Group wrapped up the 2025 program strong on 11/25, celebrating successes both personal and collective. Several members arrived early to pre-game in the sidewalk cafe outside with whiskeys and cigars. Friends and cousins were in town early for Thanksgiving, and got to hang with the boys and meet their brothers during "the meeting before the meeting." At 6:08pm we took the party upstairs to our usual private room in the mezzanine t

Fra Roy Barrera is among the honored at the Power Move Awards Gala November 19th 2025 at the Mansion at Oyster Bay. He is the gala's Philanthropist of the Year, recognized for his yeoman's work fundraising for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Earlier this year, LLS named him a Visionary Of The Year, after raising $140,000 for the organization. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society funds life-saving blood cancer research around the world, investing more than $2 billion in groundbre

The Sammy Business Group welcomed five guests to dinner this month. New grad Kyle walked away from the dinner table with job...

Fall Fun

In October we will have an opening on the Board of Directors of the Sigma Alpha Mu Tri-State Alumni Club for one position, Prior . It...

The Sammy Tri-State Business Networking group was featured in the Spring 2024 Octagonian. Article below and at...

Fra Gabriel Sakellarides will be emceeing the Greenpoint YMCA 6th Annual "Spirit of Community" Service Awards Dinner and Auction on...

The Sammy Tri-State monthly business dinners have been going strong, despite a temporary pivot to Zoom during the COVID lockdown and...

Business Group Holiday Dinner