In a business in which flipping is common, the Rudins are old-fashioned. They work methodically and alone -- "We don't take on partners," says Bill Rudin -- and they've retained nearly every property they've built or acquired. They've also committed themselves to New York. Jack Rudin and his late brother, Lewis, helped save the city from bankruptcy in the 1970s by persuading corporations to prepay their taxes, and Lewis co-founded the Association for a Better New York. Today Jack, 83, continues as chairman and is joined by the third and fourth generations. The Rudins led the way in developing Manhattan's dot-com district, Silicon Alley, and plan to restore a chunk of Greenwich Village as part of a development for St. Vincent's medical center.
