Mitti & Melissa Liebersohn

MUNIFICENCE:
A Bedford Couple Rooted In Giving

PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREA CERASO

Mitti is a mover-and-shaker with forty years of experience in the commercial real estate brokerage business, and presently serves as the CEO of the Tri-State Region of the London-based giant international brokerage firm Savills, overseeing approximately 300 people. He’s outgoing, warm, friendly, and loyal, always giving and gracious, and completely genuine. A bearded Liev Schreiber would be a good pick to play Mitti in a movie. He has two sons, Remy now 35, and Taylor now 33.

Melissa is a certified Life Coach, with an active private practice based at the couple’s farmhouse in Bedford, where she routinely involves their alpacas, goats and three dogs in her in-person coaching and online sessions with clients of all ages. She almost never leaves the house without the couple’s prized pooches, Bubba an absolutely enormous St. Berdoodle, Bebe an equally huge Newfiepoo, and AriGold their 15 year old Cavapoo. And, underneath her always-perfect appearance and stunning good looks, she’s an extremely empathetic individual who is continuously overcoming her own insecurities, and is just about the kindest, sweetest, and most caring and charitable person in town.

The couple first made acquaintance in Manhattan back in the ‘90s, when Melissa was working as the Executive Assistant to a high-powered CEO who Mitti was representing in a real estate transaction. “I was so struck by Melissa that I really could barely get my name out…and I was married at the time,” Mitti admits. 

“Ten years later, I’d become the head of human resources at another large firm in Manhattan, and was charged with finding the company some new office space - which I knew absolutely nothing about,” Melissa says, laughing about it now. “I went outside of our midtown office to get a cup of coffee and figure out what I was going to do…and I looked up at a sign on the building next door with Mitti’s name and number on it as one of the leasing agents!”

“When Melissa reached out…I was divorced…and realized immediately who she was…and, this time, didn’t hesitate to start giving her my best shpiel,” Mitti smiles. “I scheduled a meeting ‘to help her with the real estate’…but was really hoping it might lead to something more.”

“When Mitti called me back, he said ‘of course he remembered who I was’ and that he’d be happy to help with finding the real estate. …When we went out to dinner it felt like we had known each other forever,” Melissa recounts. “...Ironically, shortly before the dinner with Mitti, I’d seen a psychic who told me I was going to find a man and was going to get married, that I was going to meet him through business, that he would be wearing a red bracelet that wasn’t worth anything but meant everything to him, that he was not born in the United States, that he liked to wear three-piece suits, and that we were going to date for a long time and ultimately find a happy and serene life together. …At that dinner, Mitti showed-up wearing one of his signature three-piece suits, and had a bracelet made of red string which he told me was significant to him because it related to his study of Kabbalah at the time, and one of the things I learned about him was that he was born in Israel. …And true to the psychic’s premonition, we dated nine years…were married in 2016…and do have a happy and serene life together!.”

Melissa continues, “After getting married we were living in Chappaqua, and one day my trainer took me for a run in Bedford - I run and hike almost every day, mostly on the Bedford Riding Lanes Association trails and in the Ward Pound Reservation - and we passed this amazing house…and I actually went home and told Mitti about a house that took my breath away. I never told him which house it was. A year later, when we decided to move, Mitti called me on a random Sunday to say he’d caught wind of a house that was for sale, that he was standing on the porch, and that he thought I should come right over to see it. …I nearly fainted when I arrived and it was the same house I’d spotted earlier! …I can’t believe I get to live here! We pinch ourselves every day!”

“My dad was a Holocaust survivor who was in a concentration camp for four years and saw his family slaughtered. An orphan at the age of 15, he fled to Israel,and enlisted in the Irgun to fight in Israel’s War of Independence. When his entire platoon was listed as killed in action and his fate was unknown, he came home to find the aunt who had adopted him had committed suicide in despair. He met my mom a few years later while they were both serving in the army, and I was born in 1958, in what is now called the Rabin Medical Center,” MItti tells his story.

“My mom, Dalia, who’s turning 90 and lives in Florida, is still very much a major force in my life!” Mitti notes. “She was an only child, born in Palestine before the formation of Israel. Her childhood was marked by significant social and political upheaval and her stories of living thru the British Mandate in the 1930’s and 40’s, my grandfather being in the Haganah, and then her being a Sergeant in the Israeli Army and fighting in the Palestine War. Her stories always highlighted the importance of supporting peaceful coexistence and promoting understanding among different cultures, and have always resonated with me.” 

“My maternal grandmother, Dora, was kind of the matriarch of our family, and when I was about 3 she compelled my mom and dad to move us to Australia” Mitti continues. “Then she got a job as a school superintendent in Des Moines and we all picked up and moved to the United States…..and then my dad, finally coming into his own and having to lie about his education as he had no formal one to speak of, got a job in Easton, Pennsylvania….and then Brooklyn, which had us moving to Merrick, in Long Island.”

“My dad’s experience made him somewhat of a time bomb,” Mitti says somberly. “He died at the age of 54, when I was 27, and I’ve spent the rest of my life trying to understand him better, and begin to fathom what happened to him…and to my grandparents and aunt. He was irascible, could be volcanic, and often shut me down. But he made sure my brother Danny and I had a Jewish education and identity - meaning mostly a duty of morality and a responsibility to the welfare of others. The conversation in our house was always about Israel, and he taught me that it is empathy rather than nationalism that underlies Zionism. Having empathy for other human beings is in the Jewish DNA.”  

“I went to Calhoun High School in Merrick, Long Island, and always had a job. The first - working as a bus boy at the Nassau Coliseum in the late 70’s - was the best job I ever had! I got to go to every concert and every Islanders game…when the Islanders were unbeatable!” Mitti recalls fondly. “I started college at SUNY Oswego and then transferred to Hofstra. …At that point I had a job working at Puppy Palace in the Roosevelt Field Mall and, one fateful day sometime in March of my junior year, a homeless guy in really ragtag clothing who looked like he hadn’t showered in a while came into the store and, as I really didn’t have much else to do, I spent a couple of hours indulging this guy discussing one breed and another and which dog might best suit this guys requirements - even though it was obvious he couldn’t purchase any one of them. …After offering him free dog food, collars and leashes, he shocked me when he said he would take the Cairn Terrier - ‘because it looks just like Toto in the Wizard of Oz’. …He proceeded to ask how much of a commission I was going to make on the sale, and I told him twenty-five bucks. And he said, ‘Schmuck, if you can sell - and certainly you can - then you ought to sell whatever has the biggest commission, and that’s commercial real estate’.  ...As a stretch limousine pulled-up outside the store to pick him up, he gave me his business card and told me to call. After finding out who this guy was - Barry Smith, CEO of one of the then-largest Manhattan commercial real estate firms - I went to see him and he offered me a job and said he believed the sky was the limit for me and that he saw great success in my future. …And, to my surprise, my dad supported my dropping-out of college to take the job…and the rest is real estate history.”

“I was born in Queens, lived in Southern California for a while when I was a kid, and then moved back to Long Island, where I went to Plainview Old Bethpage High School,” Melissa recounts. “I struggled with typical teenage issues back then and did not treat myself with any self-love which resulted in bad self esteem. I went to SUNY Oneonta and majored in Speech Communications. I wanted to be an actress but didn’t have the confidence to pursue it. So I took the job as the Executive Assistant - where I first met Mitti - and eventually developed a fairly successful career. …Looking back, I totally understand that having a healthy mindset is truly the key in pursuing your dreams!”

“When we got married, with Mitti’s encouragement I quit my business career, went back to school, and got certified as a Life Coach. Now my work makes me feel totally fulfilled!” Melissa says, still excited about having been able to shift gears. “From the time I was a kid, I’ve always been the person that others reach out to for comfort, support, help, and advice. 

“My practice is focused on what I call ‘A.W.A.R.E.’, which stands for Authenticity, Warmth, Appreciation, Respect, and Empowerment with Empathy.,” Melissa explains. “That’s why I use the url awarenesslifecoachingny.com. ...And having our farm to host my clients enhances the effectiveness of my coaching for so many people. …So many of us have a vision of ourselves and our lives that is not objectively correct, and I specialize in helping people sift fact from fiction, and break negative cycles and embrace gratitude in their place. I do a lot of one-on-one work with people of all ages, but including a lot of young teens and women. In addition, I do retreats based on helping people embrace their authentic self. Everything I do is strictly confidential. My goal is to have individuals feel some stress relief and be positively transformed.”

“At that first job in the business that I got from the guy who came into the pet store, there was an article on the wall in the office titled ‘Success Before Thirty’ and, despite the fact that I hadn’t even started in the business, I set the goal to make it in the real estate business before I turned 30,” Mitti recalls. “I worked really hard, have always been the first one to get in in the morning, and - as is my craft - I spent all my time nurturing my relationships with clients and compatriots in the industry. …And on my 29th Birthday, I got a call, completely out of the blue, from three other young professionals  in the business who had the backing of a gentleman named Alvin Dworman, and these three asked me to join them in forming Riverbank Realty. …That’s when my career took off!”

“Ever since then I’ve been an obsessive goal setter, and I preach goal setting to all of the young people I mentor,” Mitti continues. “I focus my goal setting in three categories: things economic like specific career achievements; personal development, and; charitable and philanthropic work that I call helping others. …And, though I’ve had relative success in my career, what really makes me feel successful is when I’m helping others.”

“In the area of economic goals, I often associate some material reward with achieving the goal,” Mitti explains. “I bought the ‘69 Bronco and did a top-to-bottom reno on it when I closed a deal on a trophy property that I’d been working on for a while. It’s a real show-stopper…but without doors or a roof it’s not much good in the cold!”

“And I remain always mindful that material things are unimportant when compared to our health, happiness, and welfare, and that of others,” Mitti says. “It’s almost unbelievable, but I’ve managed to smash-up several of my collectibles, and that certainly keeps you humble! …When I came home from college in Oswego for my brother’s Bar Mitzvah, my dad gave me the keys to the family’s prized red 1970 Mustang and told me I could take it back to school. On the next day, I took the car to my brother’s Bar Mitzvah party at Leonards and when i got there, there was a large tree that had fallen across the entrance. I went around the tree, found a spot in the lot - and backed-up right over a huge branch of the fallen tree, destroying the underside and drivetrain of the car!

…I then purchased a ‘64 Mustang, which I garaged in Long Island until the following April when I returned from school. When I returned, I opened the garage, started the engine, got out of the car wanting to give it some time to run and so I could get organized - and watched as the classic rolled out of the garage, down the long driveway, and into an enormous tree! Totalled! 

…And then there’s the ‘61 Corvette out in the driveway. It was on the cover of Corvette as the #1 example of this C2 version of the car, which Chevy stopped making in 1962. I bought it from the original owner. Not a scratch on it. It gets delivered on a flatbed and Melissa and I take it out for the first ride - and hit a giant pothole and destroy the entire driver’s side rear quarter panel of the theretofore perfect car! ...True story! ...Humbling to say the least!”

“In the area of personal development, I try to get really specific about spending time doing the activities that get  you to where you want to go more than trying to just identify the improvements or feelings I’m looking to achieve,” Mitti continues. “...And this kind of method of actually achieving personal development is central to Melissa’s coaching. …During covid I wrote a book chronicling my father’s journey, and I recently got to tour Auschwitz and Birkenau, and both activities helped me to better understand him…and myself. …And I’ve done some pretty serious climbing. I’ve climbed Mont Blanc in France, and Mt. Gannett, the highest peak in Wyoming - it took us two days horseback riding to get there. I attempted to climb Mt. Rainier, but couldn’t finish because the group in front of us got caught in an avalanche in which two died. And, most meaningfully, I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, together with my older son Remy, to benefit Make-A-Wish. That was profound!” 

 “And when it comes to helping others, well I started to get involved in doing charitable work and philanthropy in my twenties. As soon as I felt I could contribute with time or money,” Mitti recalls.

“I was introduced to the Make-A-Wish Foundation over 30 years ago, when I was at Disneyworld and saw some kids in wheelchairs being taken around by folks with makeshift tee shirts that read ‘Make-A-Wish’, when it was still a fledgling organization and as my Remy and Taylor were born healthy. I became immersed in the organization and went on to serve on the Board and am still a member of the Chairman’s Council. Along the same lines, I’ve also served on the Board of Special Olympics and am passionate about the work that Avenues for Justice does, a charity that takes kids who are headed for jail, interrupts the judicial process, and provides an alternative and a different path for the kids to get back into school.

“I’m honored to be a part of the proud tradition of charitable service and giving in the New York real estate industry,” Mitti remarks. “I serve on the Executive Board of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and was one of the youngest Chairman of the Young Men’s and Women’s Real Estate Association of New York. I also currently serve on the Board of the Museum of American Finance - which plans to open a new bricks and mortar museum in Boston.” 

“And then, near and dear to my heart, are my Jewish philanthropies. I serve on the Real Estate Board of the Anti-Defamation League, and currently serve as the President of the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center - the hospital where I was born!” Mitti says with obvious pride and satisfaction. “I got involved five or six years ago and became President three years ago. I’ve had the privilege to visit the hospital and meet the excellent medical professionals working there on several occasions, and the honor of hosting luminaries like former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at fundraising events in New York.”

“Rabin has over 1,000,000 patient visits annually, with over 35,000 surgical procedures, including over 5,000 heart operations and 290 organ transplants, and 10,000 births each year!” Mitti elaborates about the Rabin Medical Center. “Just last April, I got to tour the underground wing of the hospital, complete with trauma centers and operating rooms, which had been constructed for use during covid and in the event of a catastrophic emergency that would render the entire existing above-ground hospital dangerous or inoperable - and which the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center had helped to fund. Just weeks later, when Iran bombed civilian areas of Tel Aviv, the new underground facility was called into action and became completely operational!”

“The American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center raises millions and millions of dollars each year to supply medical equipment and fund different projects at the Rabin Medical Center,” Mitti boasts. “I’m really proud to do my part!”  And, in turn, Rabbi Joshua Plaut, Executive Director of the American Friends of the Rabin Medical Center, says of Mitti, “He’s a gem! Purely altruistic!”

Melissa summarizes, “What gives Mitti and me pleasure is helping other people. We’re fulfilled when a parent calls to say we’ve really helped their kid. Between Mitti’s philanthropy and my social work, we’re lucky enough to have the satisfaction of helping people on a large scale and within the community on a personal level. As people say, ‘giving is its own reward’!”

“One really fun benefit of going to charitable auctions is my collection of autographed guitars,” Mitti says sarcastically. “As Melissa and I are both passionate about music, she indulges my persistent bidding to purchase signed guitars whenever the charity is worthy. I’m on a mission to have a signed guitar from the top 100 artists of the 60’s and 70’s, and I have 48 of them to date. “The first one I acquired was one signed by Emerson, Lake and Palmer, because it was the first concert I ever went to, but now I have a signed Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, a James Taylor, and a very special guitar signed by Dylan, Clapton, and McCartney, to describe just a few of my favorites.”

“I also have this really special piece I acquired right after climbing Kilimanjaro that is a self-portrait signed by John Lennon that says “At Last He Could See The Mountains”. Pretty cool!”

Mitti was one of the first people to join Anglebrook Golf Club, in Lincolndale, when it opened 27 years ago in 1998, and so Anglebrook’s General Manager Matt Sullivan affectionately refers to Mitti and Melissa - who are both avid golfers - as ‘Anglebrook’s First Couple’.

“I think it’s one of the best golf experiences in Westchester!” Mitti declares. “Because of the liberal guest policies it’s great for  business - and I’ve been hosting my two best friends at Anglebrook at least one day of most weekends for the last 27 years. And Melissa and I try to play at least nine holes together on most Saturdays and Sundays. …There’s always a tee time available, and most of the time you’re so alone out on the course you feel like you own the place. They treat you like royalty, but the mood is casual. And the golf course - Robert Trent Jones’ last before he died - is simply magnificent, and more than challenging! Fortunately or unfortunately, as I’m turning that age, my friends and I are trying our first few rounds from the Senior Tees!

Mitti and Melissa always show up dressed to the nines…and usually in one or another of their fun cars. …For this golf date at Anglebrook, Mitti and Melissa chose their yellow MG Morgan ‘Plus 8’ with the license plate CHEERIOH - and Melissa’s meticulously matching outfit and accessories are just par for the course!