jerseyshorejohnny
Well-known member
Joseph M. Mattone Sr. gives $3.5 million to St. John’s School of Law
By MELANIE GRAYCE WEST
June 2, 2016 WALL STREET JOURNAL
It’s being called the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law for good reason.
Joseph M. Mattone Sr., 84 years old, is giving $3.5 million to St. John’s School of Law in honor of his family, career and love for his alma mater.
With the help of his penny-pinching parents and generous siblings, Mr. Mattone was the only one of nine siblings to complete college. He started at St. John’s Preparatory School, then graduated from St. John’s University in 1953 and its school of law in 1955.
Mr. Mattone, chairman of Mattone Group, LLC, a Queens-based real-estate development and construction company, is a member of St. John’s Board of Trustees. He also founded of the law offices of Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Megna and Todd.
His schooling didn’t come easily. His father, a bartender, provided the $18 in monthly tuition for him to go to prep school—a sum paid each time in quarters.
When his mother died, his siblings came together to uphold her wish that the youngest Mattone would finish college. They helped with money and housing.
For his part, Mr. Mattone “promised her that I would never leave school if it was in my power,” he recalled during a recent interview.
He kept up his grades, completed school on time and took a job on Wall Street upon his graduation at the age of 21. Others followed him: two children and a grandchild are graduates of St. John’s and two daughters, two sons and a handful of other relatives attended St. John’s School of Law.
Mr. Mattone owes his interest in real estate to an older brother who worked as a property appraiser for the City of New York. The elder Mattone would take his brother along to meetings and appraisals as a way to baby-sit. Mr. Mattone enjoyed watching his brother and decided to get into real estate to represent deals.
The idea for a real estate institute is to give students a footing in analyzing the changing trends in real estate, the markets and real estate legislation, said Mr. Mattone, who still goes to work daily.
The law school already has countless alumni working in real estate and the industry represents an important career pathway for students, according to Michael A. Simons, the dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics at St. John’s University School of Law.
Among other things, the gift from Mr. Mattone will allow for the hiring of a director for the institute, a physical space at the school and an expansion of curriculum, conferences and symposiums, said Mr. Simons.
The gift will be announced at a gala later this month, and the institute is scheduled to open this fall.
Write to Melanie Grayce West at melanie.west@wsj.com
By MELANIE GRAYCE WEST
June 2, 2016 WALL STREET JOURNAL
It’s being called the Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law for good reason.
Joseph M. Mattone Sr., 84 years old, is giving $3.5 million to St. John’s School of Law in honor of his family, career and love for his alma mater.
With the help of his penny-pinching parents and generous siblings, Mr. Mattone was the only one of nine siblings to complete college. He started at St. John’s Preparatory School, then graduated from St. John’s University in 1953 and its school of law in 1955.
Mr. Mattone, chairman of Mattone Group, LLC, a Queens-based real-estate development and construction company, is a member of St. John’s Board of Trustees. He also founded of the law offices of Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Mattone, Megna and Todd.
His schooling didn’t come easily. His father, a bartender, provided the $18 in monthly tuition for him to go to prep school—a sum paid each time in quarters.
When his mother died, his siblings came together to uphold her wish that the youngest Mattone would finish college. They helped with money and housing.
For his part, Mr. Mattone “promised her that I would never leave school if it was in my power,” he recalled during a recent interview.
He kept up his grades, completed school on time and took a job on Wall Street upon his graduation at the age of 21. Others followed him: two children and a grandchild are graduates of St. John’s and two daughters, two sons and a handful of other relatives attended St. John’s School of Law.
Mr. Mattone owes his interest in real estate to an older brother who worked as a property appraiser for the City of New York. The elder Mattone would take his brother along to meetings and appraisals as a way to baby-sit. Mr. Mattone enjoyed watching his brother and decided to get into real estate to represent deals.
The idea for a real estate institute is to give students a footing in analyzing the changing trends in real estate, the markets and real estate legislation, said Mr. Mattone, who still goes to work daily.
The law school already has countless alumni working in real estate and the industry represents an important career pathway for students, according to Michael A. Simons, the dean and John V. Brennan Professor of Law and Ethics at St. John’s University School of Law.
Among other things, the gift from Mr. Mattone will allow for the hiring of a director for the institute, a physical space at the school and an expansion of curriculum, conferences and symposiums, said Mr. Simons.
The gift will be announced at a gala later this month, and the institute is scheduled to open this fall.
Write to Melanie Grayce West at melanie.west@wsj.com
