[2] Born in Brooklyn to a Syrian Jewish family, Chera started purchasing real estate in New York City in the 1980s, first as a minority partner and later in the 2000s as the lead developer.
[7] In the 1980s, Chera (then in charge of the family company) started purchasing real estate in New York City[2] at first as a minority partner and later in 2000s as the lead developer.
[2][12] In 2012, Chera purchased 49.9% interest in a four-building Fifth Avenue portfolio that included the Olympic Tower for $1 billion from the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation.
[2] Crown was also a prominent investor (along with Albert Laboz, Joseph Jemal, and Eli Gindi) in the Fulton Mall in Brooklyn.
[15] Chera and his wife Frieda, nicknamed "Cookie",[16] had three sons: Isaac "Ike", Haim, and Richard, all active in the family business.
[16] Donald Trump, in a May 2020 Fox News interview,[24] described Chera's death as having a high impact on his thinking: I've lost three friends.
One, a very good friend, a very successful man, New York guy, employed a lot of people that were all crying over his death.