• Eugene Travers represents real estate developers, lenders, and nonprofit institutions in land use, zoning, and historic preservation matters.  Gene negotiates complicated zoning lot mergers and transfers of development rights to enhance the development potential of his client’s projects, secures discretionary land use approvals through New York City’s Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) and the Board of Standards and Appeals, and conducts land use due diligence for the purchase and financing of new development and conversion projects.

    Gene advocates on behalf of clients before New York City’s land use agencies, including the City Planning Commission, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Board of Standards and Appeals, and the Department of Buildings, as well as before community boards, borough presidents, and the City Council.  He secures rezonings, zoning text amendments, special permits, variances, large-scale development approvals, waterfront zoning approvals, and vested rights. Gene also advises clients on site acquisition, assembly, and development feasibility. He particularly enjoys collaborating as co-counsel with leading transactional real estate attorneys and law firms that do not have their own zoning practices, many of whom frequently rely on Gene for his knowledge and experience.

    Gene was profiled by Crain’s New York as a Rising Star in Real Estate (2019), and has been recognized by Thomson Reuter’s New York Super Lawyers (2015-2022).  The Center for New York City Law awarded Gene the CityLand Fellowship in 2010.

    Experience

    • Represents Extell Development Company in numerous multi-parcel zoning lot mergers and transfers of development rights throughout New York City.

    • Represents DH Property Holdings in connection with land use due diligence for the financing and development of industrial sites, including the multi-story, 1.3 million-square-foot Sunset Industrial Park distribution hub.

    • Represented Brookfield Properties in land use diligence and waterfront zoning approvals for its Bankside project, a 4.3-acre mixed-use development along the Harlem River Waterfront in South Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood.

    • Represented The Gotham Organization in obtaining a rezoning, large-scale special permit, and other approvals for a development containing market rate, senior, and affordable housing and the headquarters for the Chinese-American Planning Council on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.

    • Represented HELP USA in obtaining a rezoning and a large-scale special permit for the development of a four-building mixed-use complex including more than 500 permanently affordable apartments and supportive housing in East New York, Brooklyn.

    • Represented Riu Hotels & Resorts in connection with the construction of a new 49-story hotel in the Times Square Theater District, using bonus development rights generated pursuant to a special permit for the rehabilitation of the historic Cort Theatre on a multi-party assemblage created through a zoning lot merger.

    • Represented Gamma Real Estate in its development of a 64-story, 800+ feet tall residential skyscraper in Sutton Place, Manhattan, and securing a vested right from the Board of Standards of Appeals to allow the project to continue despite a zoning change by opponents of the project.

    Credentials

    Education

    • J.D., New York Law School, 2010
      • Dean's List (High Honors)
    • B.A., Fairfield University, 2007

    Bar Admissions

    • New Jersey, 2010
    • New York, 2011

    Professional Affiliations

    • New York City Bar Association, Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee

    Focus Areas

  • Perspectives

    Search More
    • Speaking Engagement
      March 27, 2024
      Key Considerations for Zoning Lot Mergers & Development Rights in New York City
      Read More
    • Defining Matters
      Oct. 13, 2023
      Kramer Levin Advises Customers Bank in Connection With $64 Million Construction Financing of Bronx Mixed Use Development
      Read More
    • Announcements
      Sept. 22, 2023
      2023 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists Include Over 90 Kramer Levin Attorneys
      Read More
    • Articles
      June 19, 2023
      The City of Yes: Zoning for Carbon Neutrality
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      May 16, 2023
      Land Use Issues Addressed at Kramer Levin Seminar
      Read More
    • Seminar
      May 03, 2023
      Emerging Issues in Land Use: The Year in Review and What’s Ahead
      Read More
    • Articles
      March 27, 2023
      Obtaining a Zoning Variance in New York City
      Read More
    • Media Mentions
      Jan. 26, 2023
      The Daily Dirt: Adams Wants More Housing in Midtown
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      Jan. 13, 2023
      City Hall Releases Report Recommending Regulatory Changes to Facilitate Office Conversions
      Read More
    • Media Mentions
      Dec. 09, 2022
      The Real Deal: How Special Are These Permits? No One Got Any
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      Sept. 20, 2022
      New York City Local Law 97 Has a Mechanism to Help Small Building Owners
      Read More
    • Seminar
      April 28, 2022
      Kramer Levin Webinar: Emerging Issues in Land Use — The Year in Review and What’s Ahead
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      May 04, 2021
      Controversial Citywide Hotel Special Permit Enters Public Review
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      March 12, 2021
      Mayor de Blasio Proposes Zoning Changes Intended to Promote the City’s Recovery
      Read More
    • Speaking Engagement
      March 04, 2021
      Kramer Levin Webinar: Emerging Issues in Land Use — The Year in Review and What’s Ahead
      Read More
    • Defining Matters
      Dec. 31, 2020
      Kramer Levin Advises Gotham Organization in $162 M Construction Loan for Lower East Side Development
      Read More
    • Announcements
      Dec. 07, 2020
      Kramer Levin Names Two Special Counsel
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    • Articles
      May 26, 2020
      Construction Shutdown: Preserving Land Use Approvals
      Read More
    • COVID-19 Legal Resource Guide
      April 13, 2020
      Effect on New York City Land Use and Development Issues
      Read More
    • Client Alerts
      Feb. 07, 2020
      Changes to Signage and Seating in Privately Owned Public Spaces
      Read More
    • Seminar
      Feb. 06, 2020
      Emerging Issues in Land Use — The Year in Review and What’s Ahead
      Read More
    • Announcements
      June 24, 2019
      Eugene Travers and Josh Winefsky Named to Crain’s Rising Stars in Real Estate List
      Read More
    • Speaking Engagement
      April 30, 2019
      Lorman Webinar: Development Rights – Current Trends and Legal Concerns
      Read More
    • Speaking Engagement
      March 31, 2017
      The Rooftops Conference NYC 2017
      Read More
    • Announcements
      May 26, 2016
      NYSBA’s Empire State Counsel Program Recognizes Kramer Levin Attorneys for Pro Bono Commitment
      Read More
    • Announcements
      Sept. 16, 2015
      2015 New York Super Lawyers and Rising Stars Lists Include Over 100 Kramer Levin Attorneys
      Read More
    • Articles
      March 26, 2013
      The East Midtown Rezoning and the Future of New York City
      Read More
    • Articles
      Jan. 23, 2013
      Heavy Lifting: The Regulation of Health Establishments Under the Zoning Resolution
      Read More
    • Articles
      June 15, 2012
      City Council Proposes Important Changes to Landmarks Law
      Read More
    • Articles
      September 2011
      Further Utilizing the Zoning Resolution to Create a More Sustainable New York City, Better Prepared to Adapt to Climate Change
      Read More
    View More

  • Recognition

    2015 – 2023
    Thomson Reuters' New York Metro Super Lawyers, Rising Star*
    Risng Star – Land Use/Zoning
    2019
    Crain’s New York Rising Stars in Real Estate
    2015- 2019
    Marvin Frankel Pro Bono Award
    Outstanding Pro Bono Contributions
    2007 – 2009, 2011, 2012, 2014 – 2017
    New York State Bar Association’s Empire State Counsel Honor

    *No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the Super Lawyers selection methodology can be found here.