Sam Charney

Sam Charney is an American real estate developer and the founder of Charney Companies, a real estate development firm based in Long Island City, New York.

Early life and education Charney grew up in Manhattan and attended the Dalton School. After graduating from Bates College, Charney enrolled in the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He received a Master's from New York University. His work there earned him Brooklyn Building Awards for the West Elm Corporate Offices and the Waterfront Media Headquarters as well as for the adaptive-reuse rehabilitation of the 1859 warehouse at 164 Atlantic Avenue, his first development project.

He founded his own real estate firm, Charney Companies, in 2013. As his first solo project, he “took all the equity [he] had saved up and bought a piece of land in Long Island City.”

In 2024, Charney's firm acquired 99 Claremont Avenue, a former Union Theological Seminary dormitory in Morningside Heights, Manhattan for $38 million, marking his first project in the borough, and converted it into student housing. In July 2026, his firm sold the redeveloped property to Columbia University for $122 million.

Personal life Charney is married with 2 children , is a Democrat and has made donations to Eric Adams' mayoral re-election campaign.

Charney serves as vice chair of the board of trustees of the Queens Museum. He also sits on the boards of the Brooklyn Museum and Pursuit, a nonprofit focused on adult education and job training, and serves on the Construction Committee of the Brooklyn Public Library.

He has been listed among The Real Deal'''s TRD 100 , and was recognized on City & State's "Brooklyn Power 100" and "Queens Power 100" lists. He was also named to Crain's New York Business "Notable Leaders in Real Estate" list in 2022. In 2026, Forbes Romania'' named him "Developer of the Year".

Art collection Charney's interest in art began in high school, working as an errand boy at a Soho gallery, and led him to major in art history in college with a focus on street art.