Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Author: Gibbons P.C.

Green or Not to Green, That is the Question? Whether it is Nobler to Build a Green Building or Suffer the Ignominy of an Ungreen One

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues / Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On September 14, 2010

With energy costs high and the focus on combating global warming, there is an impetus toward encouraging the development of Green Buildings. Buildings account for 39% of the total energy usage in the U.S., two thirds of the electricity consumption and 1/8 of the water usage. Building codes, setting minimum standards for construction, now include standards for energy efficiency. Green Codes are creeping in.

CHeaP Grants Available from NJEDA: Stimulus Funds to Energize Combined Heat and Power Projects

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On September 13, 2010

If you are a NJ-based entity, do you have a power plant in the works? Are you thinking about a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant? If so, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) has a grant for you if you act with alacrity. October 4, 2010, at 5:00 pm is the deadline for submitting an online solicitation for the competitive CHP grants. Grants are available for $450 per kW up to a maximum of $5 million per plant. All forms are available online.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Signs New Owner Disclosure Law

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Posted in Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On September 13, 2010

On September 8, 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a new law that will require owners of multiple dwellings to provide the New York City Department of Housing Preservation & Development (HPD) with their names, business and residential addresses and telephone numbers on an annual basis. The law also requires all shareholders who hold at least 25% of a corporation, partnership or limited liability company to comply with the disclosure requirements as well. Finally, the law mandates that a U.S. postal service mail box can not be used as a valid address.

Land Use Public Notices: N.J. Developers/Attorneys Beware!!!

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On August 26, 2010

In the most recent case decided in New Jersey on the issue of the adequacy of a land use public notice, the court continued the trend of requiring applicants on development applications to put as much information in their notices as possible to make the general public aware of the nature of the matter under consideration. In Neshanic Coalition for Historic Preservation v. Hillsborough Township Planning Board, Judge Buchsbaum ruled that the applicant’s public notice failed to meet the statutory requirement of setting forth the “nature of the matters to be considered” under the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law because it omitted the fact that the building to be demolished was located in an historic district.

The Wait is Finally Over for New York Land Use and Environmental Practitioners … The New Edition of the SEQRA Handbook Has Arrived

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Environmental and Green Issues

On August 25, 2010

It has been almost two decades since the last edition of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) Handbook was released by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYSDEC) Division of Environmental Permits. Despite significant amendments to the SEQR regulations, 6 NYCRR Part 617 in January 1996 and tens of hundreds of cases of distinction on SEQR substance and procedure, many land use and environmental practitioners have been left to fend for themselves without up-to-date technical regulatory guidance from NYSDEC until now.

Second Circuit Holds That Shipping a Single Counterfeit Item to New York May Support Personal Jurisdiction When Combined with Other Business Activity in New York

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Posted in Trademarks

On August 20, 2010

On August 5, 2010, the Second Circuit issued an important decision affecting a brand owner’s ability to establish personal jurisdiction against out-of-state defendants involved in the online sale of counterfeit goods. In Chloe v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, the Second Circuit vacated a Southern District of New York (“SDNY”) decision dismissing an anti-counterfeiting case for lack of personal jurisdiction. See Chloe v. Queen Bee of Beverly Hills, LLC, 571 F. Supp. 2d 518 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) (hereafter “District Court op.”), vacated and remanded, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 16192 (2d Cir. 2010) (hereafter “Second Circuit op.”).

Ye Shall Have No Wine Before It’s Time – New York Federal District Court Dismisses Winery’s Claims on Ripeness Grounds for Failure to Obtain a Variance Decision or Provide Sufficient Proof That Efforts to Obtain a Variance Would Be Futile

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment

On August 18, 2010

Despite potential substantive merit to Plaintiffs’ federal and state constitutional claims, the Federal District Court of the Northern District of New York in Rivendell Winery LLC v. Town of New Paltz dismissed Plaintiffs’ complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction on ripeness grounds as a result of the Plaintiffs’ failure to either obtain a final variance decision or to satisfy the relatively high burden for showing that an application for a variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals would have been futile. The crux of the decision lies in the Court’s reiteration of an important principle that although the success of a land use application may seem doubtful, doubt alone is insufficient to establish that the decision maker has dug in its heels and made certain that the application will be denied.

Russell Bershad to Speak at New Jersey ICLE Program – Distressed Real Estate: Defaults, Workouts & Opportunities

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Posted in Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On August 13, 2010

Russell B. Bershad, Esq., Co-Chair, Gibbons Real Property & Environmental Department, contributing author, Commercial Real Estate Transaction in New Jersey (3rd Ed., 2010, NJICLE), will be a speaker at the New Jersey ICLE Program, Distressed Real Estate: Defaults, Workouts & Opportunities, Wednesday October 27, 2010.

No Room at the Inn – New York Closes the Door on Illegal Hotels

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Posted in Development/Redevelopment / Transactional Real Estate and Leasing

On August 12, 2010

On July 23, 2010, Governor David Patterson signed into law, legislation that amends the New York State Multiple Dwelling Law to define permanent and transient occupancy. The new illegal hotel law forbids most residential apartment units to be rented out for stays less than 30 days. This legislation may be a reaction to City of New York v. 330 Continental LLC, a 2009 Appellate Division – First Department holding, which relied on the fact that the critical terms “transient” and “permanent” are not defined in either the Multiple Dwelling Law or the New York City Zoning Resolution.

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