Veteran commercial real estate broker Al Centrella dies

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Albert “Al” Centrella, a veteran broker in the Long Island commercial real estate industry, has died. He was 70. 

Throughout his long career, the affable Centrella was well respected and universally loved by his colleagues in the brokerage community. 

The origins of Centrella’s real estate journey go back to the 1970s, when he handled the leasing of New York City office space for Lansco Corporation. A decade later he served as a vice president for Jones Lang Wooten, representing both landlords and tenants. 

Centrella became the associate direct of leasing for Spiegel Associates in 1988, where he was responsible for leasing more than 2.5 million square feet of commercial space on Long Island and the New York metropolitan area. 

In 1994, Centrella formed Schacker Management, which merged with Bagnato Realty three years later. In 2000, Bagnato Realty became NAI Long Island where he was a principal. Most recently, Centrella served as a managing director with Cushman & Wakefield. 

“Anyone who knew Al knew he had a gift of gab. You could always find him hanging around someone’s desk having a conversation,” Carmine Inserra, an executive director at Cushman & Wakefield and a longtime colleague and friend of Centrella, said in a written statement. “His personality was as big as his heart. He would talk about his family, friends, and the Bronx, but it would always segway into a real estate conversation. Al had a great vision that helped transform the retail landscape of Long Island to what it is today. He will be missed but his memory will remain.” 

Centrella is survived by his wife, Janet Centrella, his sons, Albert Centrella Jr. (Nicole Centrella) and Gregory Centrella (Nicole Centrella), and his grandchildren Vincent, Avery, Emilia, Sophia, Nicolette, and AJ.
Services to honor his memory will be held on Thursday, May 2, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Park Funeral Chapel, 2175 Jericho Turnpike, Garden City Park. The funeral mass will be held on Friday, May 3, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle, 24 Westminster Road, West Hempstead. 

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the American Kidney Fund or the American Heart Association, in honor of Centrella’s memory.