News

David Lazer, who co-chairs the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, authored an article entitled “An Attorney-Advisor’s View of Mock Trial” which was published in Volume 35, No. 3 (March 2020) of the Suffolk Lawyer (the official publication of the Suffolk County Bar Association).

The Firm is proud to welcome Marcia L. Finkelstein as Partner in the Real Estate practice group in the Firm’s Long Island office. Marcy is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (magna cum laude) and Vanderbilt University School of Law, where she was an editor of the Law Review.  Before moving to Long Island, she practiced at several large Manhattan law firms, representing major real estate developers and lending institutions.  Ms. Finkelstein has extensive real estate, commercial lending and transactional experience, including the representation of sellers, purchasers, lenders, borrowers, landlords, tenants and developers. Her experience includes contracts, leases, easements, loan agreements, construction agreements, subdivision applications and other zoning matters.  She has lectured on commercial leasing for the Suffolk Academy of Law.  She has an “AV Preeminent” rating in Martindale-Hubbell and has been selected as a “2013 Top Rated Lawyer in Land Use And Zoning.” She has been listed in Long Island Business News’ “Who’s Who in Commercial & Residential Real Estate Law” and she was included in Long Island Pulse Magazine’s “Top Legal Eagles 2013.”

Charles Weiss of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, with the assistance of William Gartland and Max Sender of the Firm’s Corporate and Business Practice Group, closed the purchase of an industrial building in Bohemia, New York, which is to be converted into a state-of-the-art research and development facility for aerospace technology.  A portion of the property acquisition price was funded by a mortgage loan from an institutional lender, and funding for the development of the building was obtained from the Small Business Administration.

Sam Yedid and Charles Weiss of the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group successfully closed the $232,500,000 sale of a 915-unit apartment complex in East Patchogue, one of the largest complexes on Long Island.  The project consisted of 626 market-rate apartments and 289 age-restricted apartments for renters age 55 and over on approximately 130 acres, with various including clubhouses, indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center and tennis courts.  This was the first venture into the New York market for the purchaser, a successful developer who owns thousands of units in New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.

Zachary Murdock and Todd M. Gardella, members of the Firm’s Litigation Practice Group, served as judges for the 2020 Long Island High School Ethics Bowl, sponsored by the Squire Family Foundation. Mr. Murdock was named a finals judge for the eleventh consecutive year. This was Mr. Gardella’s second year judging the event. The competition, held on February 1, 2020 at Hofstra University, featured participants from schools throughout the region, with the winning team advancing to the National High School Ethics Bowl.

Ralph Rosella, Alex Gayer, William Gartland and Max Sender of the Firm’s Corporate and Business Practice Group, together with Charles Weiss, Of Counsel to the Firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, closed a $55,000,000 debt and equity financing for Sportime, a long-time Firm client.  The lender and preferred equity holder is a large multinational investment bank and financial services company. The financing will enable the client to refinance all of its existing debt and significantly expand a sports facility in New York City. The scope of the representation included counseling the client with respect to its equity and management structure in advance of seeking the financing source, and guiding the process of selecting a suitable lender and equity partner.   Following this pre-transaction guidance, the Firm engaged in extensive negotiation of complex financing and equity documentation and were able to achieve the client’s goal of closing the transaction in the 2019 calendar year.