On May 7, 2024, Most Worshipful Steven Adam Rubin was installed as the 106th Grand Master of Masons in the State of New York. He presides over more than 400 Lodges and 25,000 members throughout the State of New York and the District of Syria – Lebanon for the next two years.

The Grand Lodge of F & A. M. Masons in the State of  New York was warranted in 1781, following the establishment of the Grand Lodges of England in 1717 and Ireland in 1725. New York is the ninth oldest Grand Lodge in the world.  A Grand Lodge is the governing body of Freemasonry within its respective jurisdiction.

As the Grand Master, Most Worshipful Brother Rubin has two distinct, yet equally important, responsibilities. First, he serves as the fraternal leader of the institution, which includes all of the Lodges, Districts and Committees of the Grand Lodge, plus the Masonic Care Community, Masonic Medical Research Institute, the Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library, the Masonic War Veterans, and the Masonic Brotherhood Foundation. In this capacity he ensures the activities that take place within the jurisdiction comply with the Constitutions and Regulations of the Grand Lodge. He also has numerous ceremonial privileges reserved for his position (i.e. Laying Cornerstones, Dedicating Masonic Buildings and Edifices, etc).

It is strictly within the purview of the Grand Master to exercise all of the executive and judicial functions of the Grand Lodge, inclusive of granting dispensations to form new Lodges, to grant other dispensations as may be applied, to fill officer vacancies, and to make Masons at sight in accordance with the Constitutions. The Grand Master is also empowered to cast a tie breaking vote where an equal number of votes require his decision.

The office of the Grand Master is a volunteer position; the Grand Master is elected and installed on an annual basis.

His second responsibility is leading the business of Grand Lodge, including:

• Ex-Officio of over forty (40) Grand Lodge Committees and Foundations that govern Masonry within the State of New York.
• Ex-Officio, Trustees of the Hall and Asylum Fund.  The Trustees oversee operations of the Masonic Care Community (MCC), Round Lake Camp and the Camp Turk program in the Adirondacks as well as the Publication of the Quarterly Empire State Mason periodical. They also oversee the DeWint House/George Washington’s Headquarters and Historic Site in Tappan New York; Masonic Hall, the Grand Lodge Building of the New York State Masonic Fraternity in New York City, the Masonic Care New Rochelle, and development of a new property site in Henrietta, New York.  The MCC features independent, enhanced, post-acute and skilled nursing facilities.
• Ex-Officio Member, Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI).  Established in 1958, the MMRI demonstrates Freemasonry’s longstanding commitment to the health and quality of life for all humanity.  The MMRI’s areas of focus now are on heart disease, diabetes and obesity, autoimmune disease, and cancer, autism and PTSD. During the pandemic, the MMRI responded and offered assistance with ventilators, test kits and Covid research on behalf of the Mohawk Valley Health System in New York.
• Ex-Officio member, The Chancellor Robert R Livingston Masonic Library and Museum.  The Mission of the library is to collect, preserve, interpret, and support the research and education of a community of scholars, including Freemasons, academics, undergraduate and graduate students, and the general public. The institution features the foremost collections of the history, philosophy, culture, and organization of American and International Freemasonry, with an emphasis on Freemasonry in New York State.  The Museum collection represents the history and culture of Masonry. With almost 40,000 artifacts, ephemera, manuscripts, plates and artworks in its repository, it is a leading source of primary materials contributing to the scholarship of researchers from around the world.

Brother Rubin is a former Assistant District Attorney in New York City, where he prosecuted homicides and violent crimes for nearly five (5) years in the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office. Admitted to the Bar in 1989, Bro. Steve obtained his Juris Doctorate in 1988 from Albany Law School of Union University where he served as Associate Editor of “The Issue” from 1987-1988, as well as serving as President of the Freshmen Class, Vice-President of the Student Bar Association his Sophomore Year, and President of the Student Bar As­sociation his Senior Year.   He is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the State University of New York at Albany, having received his BA Degree in 1985.  While at SUNY Albany Bro. Steve served on the University Senate and Judicial Board.

Bro. Rubin has been a practicing attorney for over thirty-five (35) years and is Principal in Steven Adam Rubin & Associates pllc, a liti­gation law firm with Offices in Masonic Hall, NYC.

A Master Mason for over twenty-six (26) years, Bro. Steve has served as a Grand Line Officer for over  eighteen years. In 2021 Bro. Steve was elected Deputy Grand Master. He served in that capacity until his election to Grand Master.

From 2006 until 2015, Bro. Steve served as Proctor of the Grand Lodge, a position likened to the District Attorney of Grand Lodge; from 2015-2018 he served as Judge Advocate, Masonic and Legal Adviser, to the Grand Master, before being elected in 2018 to the Office of Grand Treasurer, in which capacity he served until his election as Deputy Grand Master in 2021.

A three-time Past Master, he is a member of Goldenrule Clermont McKinley Lodge No. 486 in the First Manhattan Masonic District, Old Town Lodge No. 908, in the Suffolk Masonic District and Warren Lodge No. 32 (The Last Moon Lodge) in the Mid-Hudson Masonic District.  He has served as Excellent High Priest of Zerubbabel Chapter No. 147, Royal Arch Masons, and Judge Advocate of the Grand Chapter, Royal Arch Masons, from 2015 to 2024; Bro. Steve is also a proud member of the Valley of New York City, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite for the Northern Jurisdiction; Mecca Shrine; Adelphic Council No. 7, Cryptic Masons and Azim Grotto No. 7.

Bro. Steve is the co-founder and Publisher of Craftsmen Online, a pod cast and Masonic social media platform, started during the early days of the pandemic in 2020, to support New York Masonry and enhance the Education, Leadership and Membership Experience.

While raised in Ulster County, Bro. Steve currently resides in Manhattan with his wife of thirty-three (33) years.  They have two children, Talat, an Investment Banker and Pasha, a member of Bro. Steve’s Mother Lodge and lawyer in Bro. Steve’s law office.

Bro. Steve is a recipient of the Charles H. Johnson and Chancellor Robert R Livingston Medals of Grand Lodge; and the Ezra Ames Meritorious Service Award, Royal Arch Masons.