Practice Areas:

• Supreme Court Litigation »
• Loft Law »
• Zoning/Land Use »

Education:

• Brooklyn Law School, J.D. – 1979
• Middlebury College, B.A. – 1974

Bar Admissions:

• New York State – 1979
• U.S. District Court, Eastern District – 1984

Bar Affiliations:

• Association of the Bar of the City of New York
• New York County Lawyers Association
• New York State Bar Association

Biography

Mr. Brody has been a real estate litigator since 1979. As a Senior Partner of the firm’s Supreme Court Division, he supervises many of the Supreme Court, Federal Court and agency litigations the firm is handling. In addition, he continues to litigate in his areas of specialty which include complex litigations in all courts and various administrative agencies primarily involving (i) the conversion of commercial/manufacturing buildings to residential use and the attendant problems caused by claims of rent regulation and (ii) issues arising under the various building-related laws/rules, including Multiple Dwelling Law Article 7-C (the “Loft Law”), the New York City Building Code and Zoning Resolution and related statutes and regulations.

During his 32 years of litigation, he has managed and tried more than 120 cases to conclusion, including arbitrations before the American Arbitration Association. Mr. Brody’s successful trials include: Holy Properties v. Cole, 87 N.Y.2d 130 (1995), which the firm successfully defended through and including the Court of Appeals, ultimately resulting in the client recovering approximately $1.5 million dollars of rent plus legal fees. Recent years have seen successful trials and settlements in loft cases, holdover proceedings, ejectment actions, mold remediation cases, and various commercial litigations. Lately, he has focused on writing, and in Sheila Properties v. A Real Good Plumber Inc., 874 N.Y.S.2d 145 (2009) he has successfully claimed that the Appellate Divisions affirmance of a judgment of ejectment is not undone by the subsequent June 21, 2010 amendment of the Loft Law.

In recent years, the scope of his practice has changed to include tenant buyouts and evictions to enable the conversion of loft/commercial buildings to residential use. He is an occasional lecturer concerning the issues and problems attendant to such conversions as well as the 2010 amendment to the Loft Law (Multiple Dwelling Law Article 7-C) and is also retained as a consultant or co-counsel by other law firms requiring such expertise.

Articles of Interest

• “NYC’s Ten Worst Tenants“, The Village Voice, March 9, 2011.

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