Brad K. Schwartz

bschwartz@zarin-steinmetz.com
(914) 220-9793
Biography

Brad brings deft leadership and a practical, detail-oriented approach to guiding clients through the land development process.

Brad represents developers, property owners and municipalities in all aspects of real estate development and environmental law. He appears before municipal review boards advancing zoning and land use applications toward completion. His work managing the process and collaborating with his clients’ consultants on the technical issues has led to approvals for residential, commercial, educational, senior living, and mixed-use projects.

Brad’s practice also includes conducting zoning and environmental due diligence for developers and lenders. He negotiates and prepares easements, declarations, and other real estate instruments and agreements. Brad also litigates land use, real estate, and environmental matters. He has successfully defended municipal approvals and SEQRA decisions in Article 78 proceedings.

Brad is an Adjunct Professor at the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, where he teaches Land Use Regulation.

Brad serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of the Shames JCC on the Hudson, in Tarrytown, NY. He has been on the Board since 2015.

Prior to joining Zarin & Steinmetz in 2003, Brad was an associate in the environmental department in the New York City office of Rosenman & Colin LLP (now Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP). He received his Juris Doctor from Boston College Law School in 2001, where he served as Note Editor for the Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review. He received his Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1998.

Education

Boston College Law School, J.D.

State University of New York at Buffalo, B.S., magna cum laude

Admissions

New York

United States District Court, Southern District of New York

Awards

Named to Hudson Valley Magazine’s list of “Top Lawyers” for land use/environment in 2021 and 2022

New York Metro SuperLawyers®, Land Use & Zoning, since 2021

Notable Work

  • Special Counsel to the City of Glen Cove in its public-private partnership to redevelop 56 acres of former brownfield sites along the City’s waterfront as a mixed-use project. Brad guided the Planning Board through the PUD application processes, including a full SEQRA review. He also defeated Article 78 challenges to Planning Board approvals at the lower and appellate courts, drafted comprehensive amendments to the Land Disposition Agreement, and guided the City and IDA through eminent domain.
  • Represents the developers of a 1,600-unit mixed-use project that is beginning construction in the Town of Tuxedo. The Planned Integrated Development is intended to meet the market demand for “Missing Middle” housing, while also providing new retail and recreational spaces. Brad has assisted his clients in securing Amended Special Permit, SEQRA and rezoning approvals for the overall PID. He is continuing to help secure site plan, subdivision, and other approvals as each neighborhood within this multi-phase project advances toward construction.
  • Represented a REIT through the full SEQRA and land use process to gain approval for a 130,000 sq. ft. shopping center in the Town of Cortlandt. This project included obtaining site plan, rezoning, wetlands, and variance approvals from the Town, and drafting conservation, utility, and other easements and agreements.
  • Represented a private school in obtaining site plan approvals from the Village of Dobbs Ferry for a new educational building on its campus.
  • Represented the Town of Rhinebeck in the successful defense of its enactment of new zoning amendments and a comprehensive plan. Area landowners brought a lawsuit seeking to overturn the rezoning on SEQRA and constitutional grounds.

Our Attorneys work across multiple practice areas

Insights (Speaking Engagements & Publications)

Speaking

  • Speaker, Legal, Zoning and Planning Considerations in Land Subdivisions, Lorman Education Services, February 2024
  • Guest Lecturer, Hofstra Law School, Real Estate and Land Use Seminars, 2017-present
  • Panelist, Public-Private Partnerships for Development: Best Practices, Lorman Education Services, September 2019
  • Panelist, Property Redevelopment Due Diligence, Lorman Education Services, November 2017
  • Panelist, Current Issues in SEQRA and Land Development, Lorman Education Services, October 2016
  • Panelist, Current Issues in New York Plat & Subdivision Law, Lorman Education Services, June 2016
  • Speaker, Vesting and Entitlement Issues of Long-Term Redevelopment Projects, New York State Bar Association Environmental Law Section Annual Meeting, January 2013
  • Panelist, Subdividing Real Property: Legal, Practical and Technical Issues in New York, Lorman Education Services, March 2008 and 2009 & July 2010

 

Publications

  • “Vested Rights: A “Win-Win” for Municipalities and Redevelopers in Long-Term, Public-Private Redevelopment Projects,” Environmental Law in New York, Vol. 24, No. 5, May 2013
  • “Vested Rights and Public-Private Redevelopment Projects,” New York Zoning Law and Practice Report, September/October 2009
Community Involvement

Greater Westchester

  • Co-chair, Westchester County Association New Leader Roundtable, 2023-present
  • Chair, Board of Governors of the Shames JCC on the Hudson, Tarrytown, NY, 2014-present
  • Member, Board of Directors of the Legal Aid Society of Westchester County, 2014-2021
  • Coach, Dobbs Ferry Youth Little League, Baseball and Softball

 

Memberships

  • New York State Bar Association – Local & State Government Law Section; Environmental & Energy Law Section
  • Westchester County Bar Association