Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx are witnessing unprecedented levels of development, and clients are enlisting our counsel for numerous exciting projects.
During the past 15 years, Brooklyn has evolved into a global brand and a hotbed of creativity, artistic expression and reinvented urban living. Our work in the borough spans both commercial and residential real estate and land use projects. We recently provided land use advice that helped CIM Group acquire the full residential block at 85 Jay St. as well as 25-30 Columbia Heights, a series of office buildings acquired from the Watchtower Bible Society. We provided the land use advice necessary for Fortis Property and the NYU Hospitals Center to acquire the Long Island College Hospital campus in Cobble Hill for the purposes of redeveloping it into an emergency and ambulatory care facility and residential buildings. We also are advising JDS Development Group and The Chetrit Group on the development of a new residential tower at 9 DeKalb — on the same site as the landmarked Dime Savings Bank — which would rise 1,066 feet in height and be the tallest building in Brooklyn. Our Condemnation team obtained for the owner of waterfront property in Williamsburg a settlement of $160 million in lieu of a condemnation by the city of New York.
Queens, Brooklyn’s northeast neighbor, stands as the city’s – and the world’s – most ethnically diverse municipality. The borough continues to break new ground and rack up impressive statistics. Long Island City (LIC) is now the fastest-growing urban residential community in the United States, surpassing Los Angeles and even Brooklyn. Our work with Plaxall to create a special zoning district covering a 15-acre area on the waterfront in LIC will pave the way for the development of market-rate and affordable housing; arts and cultural, commercial, and light manufacturing space; a new school; and a bilevel waterfront open space.
In the Bronx, Kramer Levin is involved in projects from north to south. Soon, this borough will be home to the city’s first continuing care retirement community, River Spring Health. Kramer Levin is providing land use counsel for its 32-acre campus in Riverdale to secure special permits and authorizations from the City Planning Commission. We are also involved in the redevelopment and condemnation of sites along the Harlem River in the South Bronx.