Environmental, Land Use and Zoning Attorneys
Abrams Fensterman’s environmental, land use and zoning law attorneys represent businesses, governmental entities, organizations and individuals in a wide range of environmental and land use matters, from Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and Clean Water Act litigation to major development projects, Brownfield developments and individual variances and site approvals. Our goal is always to solve in the most effective and efficient way possible the governmental, regulatory and litigation impediments that stand in the way of our clients achieving their goals.
Our attorneys have successfully represented businesses, property owners and developers in every aspect of the land use process. Those projects include the development of the Bronx Terminal Market and the Ritz Carlton Hotel, The Westchester Mall, The Centre at Purchase, a 306-unit clustered development in Harrison, a 182-unit condominium in White Plains, a 140-unit waterfront residential development in Dobbs Ferry and 13 estate lots in Purchase. We have extensive experience with the development incentives available from New York State and local development agencies, as well as the tax advantages involved in developing Brownfield projects.
We represent local governments in the land use process, as well. We have guided many local governments in the drafting of local laws and regulatory issues related to land use and zoning, labor and employment, and other issues. When, for example, one Westchester village wanted to promote the redevelopment of a commercial district largely occupied by non-conforming industrial uses, our attorneys came up with a plan to require the discontinuance of those uses. The plan was upheld by the courts and the area is now a booming commercial area providing significant taxes to the Village. Similarly, when another village decided to promote the economic development of the downtown are around its train station, our attorneys wrote the necessary legislation and the Village now has entered into a public-private partnership to develop 120 residential units, new commercial space and a new municipal facility. Our extensive experience gives us the ability to see the challenges our clients face and set them up to either avoid legal problems or resolve those problems quickly. But when we have to litigate, our government litigation team is fully capable of doing so and has successfully represented governmental litigants in may matters.
We also advise and counsel clients, both governmental and non-governmental, with respect to environmental laws and regulations and represent them in the related litigation. One of our attorneys, Ed Smith, was formerly an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, where he served as the chief civil environmental lawyer for the United States Attorney’s Office and handled litigation and investigations under federal environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act and CERCLA (Superfund). Ed also supervised all environmental civil investigations and litigation in the counties comprising the Southern District of New York, interacting extensively with the responsible government officials as the Office’s principal liaison with federal environmental agencies and regulators, including the United States Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of the Interior.
Contact Our Law Firm
For further information about land use and zoning, please contact our law firm on Long Island at 516-328-2300, in Brooklyn at 718-215-5300, White Plains at 914-607-7010, Rochester at 585-218-9999 or Albany at 518-535-9477 to schedule an initial consultation.
