In 1968, he worked for Morse-Diesel Construction Company where he was responsible for the supervision and construction of more than one million square feet of new office space. In 1972, he joined the family business managing its real estate assets and helping the growth of his family's Manhattan brokerage firm then known as Newmark Grubb which he has headed since 1978. Gural with his partner, Barry Gosin, propelled the firm's growth in the 1970s and 1980s, via an aggressive acquisition strategy, including commercial and residential buildings and even racetracks. Gural runs the harness racing track Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey as well as the racinos Tioga Downs in Nichols, New York and Vernon Downs in Vernon, New York. In 2001, they invested in family-owned national appraiser Koeppel Tener Real Estate Services, founded by Alfred J. Koeppel. In 2006, Newmark Grubb formed a strategic partnership with London-based real estate firmKnight Frank becoming Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. In October 2011, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank was acquired by BGC Partners. Like his father, his strategy has always been to hold onto real estate over the long term. In 2017, Gural became chairman of GFP Real Estate LLC when Newmark Holdings diverged from Newmark Group and changed its name.
Philanthropy and activism
Gural is committed to cleaning up the harness racing industry: all horses that run on his tracks are subject to blood and urine samples to test for illicit drugs and the training centers or farms can be inspected at any time by his investigator. In 2014, Gural applied for a license to add table games to Tioga Downs. The state government rejected his application. Gural publicly expressed anger over the rejection. Governor Andrew Cuomo immediately requested that the state gaming commission add a casino upstate; As of 2015, Gural was the only applicant for that license. Gural and his wife have donated to several of Cuomo's political campaigns. In 2016, Gural was an important backer of Public Question 1, a ballot measure that would amend New Jersey's constitution to allow casino Gambling in North Jersey. After numerous polls showed that Question 1 had no chance to pass Gural, along with Paul Fireman, pulled their financial support for the measure. Bill Cortese, the leader of Trenton’s Bad Bet, a group opposed to the question, said, “Trenton’s Bad Bet will not be distracted by billionaire developers throwing temper tantrums because they don’t get what they want.” Gural blamed the failure of Question 1 on the general political climate and said that he might sponsor a similar ballot measure in 2018. Gural is a former chairman of the board of the Times SquareBusiness Improvement District, the Alliance of Resident Theatres New York, and the Eldridge Street Synagogue. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Real Estate Board of New York, the UJA Federation, Eugene Lang College, the U.S.O.; New York CityOutward Bound, the Jewish Community Center of the Upper West Side, and the . He also served as president of the New York Chapter of The Starlight Children's Foundation; is chairman emeritus of enCourage Kids Foundation and served as chairman of "I Have a Dream-NY"; and is a co-sponsor of the Chelsea-Elliot "I Have a Dream" Project.
