Jeff heads our Real Estate and Communications practices in New York and has significant experience in general commercial real estate law. Jeff’s general real estate practice includes acquisitions, sales, development, leasing, and borrower’s side financing. He also has a particular focus on real estate challenges facing communications, technology, and energy companies, and represents property owners and telecom companies in telecom real estate matters, such as data center leases. Jeff also advises on the use of EB-5 capital in large-scale real estate transactions. His clients include both large national companies and smaller, local clients. He is frequently invited to speak on real estate, data center, and telecom topics. He also writes for several industry publications, and he is regularly quoted in national media. Jeff was a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and led many of its major real estate and telecom transactions.
Jeff is the head of the Real Estate and Communications practices in New York. With experience including almost 30 years as a general commercial real estate attorney, he has worked with many large national companies — particularly in the high-tech, telecommunications, financial services, health care, supermarket, and oil and gas sectors — as well as numerous smaller local clients.
His real estate practice is both national and local and includes representation of landlords and tenants in all types of leases; counseling owners and developers in the acquisition, sale, development, and renovation of property; advising lenders and borrowers in commercial loans; and the representation of all parties in real estate litigation. He is actively involved in settling real estate, partnership and inter-family disputes.
During the past 30 years, he has developed a unique specialty practice in the intersection of real estate with communications, technology and energy issues. He has extensive experience representing landlords, tenants, and communications service providers in the leasing, purchase, sale, and financing of data centers, switch facilities, colocation facilities, radio and television broadcast antennas, distributed and in-building antenna systems, rooftop antennas, and fiber-optic transactions as well as the wiring of buildings for broadband communications access. Jeff has also negotiated thousands of data center leases, master services agreements and colocation agreements, rooftop and cellular antenna leases, inside wiring agreements, and antenna tower leases throughout the country – covering over 500 million square feet.
He has also devoted a considerable portion of his practice to power and energy issues related to real estate and other technology matters, including large solar and wind installations and bulk power purchases. Jeff is also a member of the firm's Not for Profit Practice, Sports & Entertainment Practice and Israel Practice.
Jeff counsels developers, regional centers, senior lenders, and institutions on the strategic use of EB-5 capital in large-scale real estate transactions. Jeff has served as counsel to several EB-5 issuers and regional centers, with a specific focus on the real estate law aspects of transactions. Jeff also advises clients in the EB-5 space on all aspects of deploying capital into projects and has experience as well in negotiating intercreditor agreements on behalf of senior lenders and EB-5 regional centers.
A frequent speaker on real estate, data center and telecom topics around the country, Jeff has also written a column called Leasing on the Level, covering leasing topics in Real Estate Weekly. He is a member of the board of advisors and regular contributor to Commercial Lease Law Insider, Commercial Tenant’s Lease Insider, and Communications Environmental and Land Use Law Report. In addition, he frequently contributes to Mortgage and Real Estate Executives Report and is regularly quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Commercial Property News, Real Estate Weekly, and other publications.
In the past, he has served in numerous governmental positions, including as a Commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (including serving as the lead board member on many large public private partnerships and real estate transactions), a member of the New York State Banking Board, a member of the New York State Financial Control Board, a member of the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the Appellate Division of the First Department of the New York State Supreme Court, Assistant to the First Deputy Mayor of the City of New York and assistant to the Deputy Borough President of the Borough of Manhattan. From 1981 to 1982, he served as a law clerk to the Honorable Charles L. Brieant, US District Judge, and later Chief Judge, for the Southern District of New York.
Jeff is also an emergency medical technician on his local volunteer ambulance and coordinator of his local chapter.
Education
- New York University (JD)
- Columbia University (BA)
Experience
- Represented a major data center operator in the acquisition, development, leasing, financing, refinancing, and eventual sale of a portfolio of major data center properties.
- Represented a public company data center owner/operator client on an 8 MW lease for a global computer software and hardware company.
Recognition & Awards
- Chambers USA: New York – Real Estate (2011 – 2019)
- Included on the New York Super Lawyers: Real Estate list (2006 – 2019)
- Best Lawyers in America: Real Estate Law (2013 – 2020)
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent
Involvement
- Fellow, American College of Real Estate Lawyers (ACREL)
- Former Commissioner, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Vice Chair, Audit Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Vice Chair, Governance and Ethics Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Vice Chair, Security Committee of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Co-Chair, Working Group on Insurance of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Member, Committees on Capital Planning, and World Trade Center Redevelopment of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- Former Member, Executive Committee of New York State Bar Association, Real Property Section
- Member, Regional Plan Association New York Committee
- Past member, New York State Financial Control Board representing President Pro Tem of the New York State Senate
- Past member, New York State Banking Board
- Past member, Departmental Disciplinary Committee of New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division First Judicial Department
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