Property

Bond represents lenders, individual and corporate owners and developers involved in the development, financing and leasing of shopping centers, office buildings, educational institutions, research parks and industrial facilities. 

Administrative law involves appearances and practice before a wide range of federal, state and local agencies which act upon client applications or concerns. Bond attorneys handle subdivision applications, utility pipe line approvals, cogeneration facility development matters, consumer protection matters, housing and building code compliance and other areas.

Bond has appeared before many municipal boards to obtain changes of zone, subdivision approvals, special permits and site plan approvals for commercial and industrial facilities, hotels, mining companies, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers, transmission tower sites and warehouses. We are qualified to act as examining counsel for title insurance companies and have extensive experience in examining title certificates and abstracts of title and addressing issues of title and title insurance coverage.

Bond attorneys represent a broad spectrum of clients in business restructuring, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy including commercial debtors, nonprofit debtors, creditors' committees, banks and other institutional lenders, secured parties, trade creditors, commercial developers and insurance companies.

Our practice has substantial experience in reorganization and liquidation cases and representing our clients' interests in bankruptcies nationwide and regularly appearing before bankruptcy courts in the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western Districts of New York. Additionally, we regularly advise clients with respect to the workout and extension of troubled loans; restructuring of debt through out-of-court workouts; business planning; and structuring corporate transactions to anticipate and protect against future bankruptcies.

Bond represents municipalities, school districts and private entities in the area of real property taxation. We have broad experience working with nonprofit clients and businesses to obtain charitable, educational, religious, business investment and environmental exemptions. We also address valuation issues associated with all types of real estate, and have engaged in proceedings that include private residences, domed stadia, private lakes and lodges, supermarkets, commercial rental real estate, businesses and a wide variety of industrial and manufacturing facilities and utility properties. Our attorneys have defended the municipal valuations of pipelines, utility properties, industrial complexes and commercial properties and have worked not only with individual entities, but consortiums of municipal clients to save expenses and consolidate resources. 

We have also had substantial experience with PILOT agreements, Empire Zones and related property tax agreements. 

In our practice, we have substantial contact with real estate appraisers and engineering valuation consultants. We have appeared in numerous proceedings that regularly require appearances before assessors, boards of assessment review, judicial hearing officers, New York Office of Real Property Services and the courts.

Bond attorneys have experience with the formation and operation of residential condominiums, homeowners’ associations and cooperatives. We have in-depth knowledge of the state laws and regulations (New York Real Property Law, New York Condominium Act, New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, New York Cooperative Corporations Law) governing how these associations operate. 

Our attorneys have extensive experience handling project development financing, including industrial development revenue bonds, and other public sector financing participation and incentives, real property tax assessment review, construction contracts, architects’ agreements and other aspects of commercial construction projects.

Bond attorneys have extensive experience handling project development financing, including industrial development revenue bonds and other public sector financing participation and incentives, real property tax assessment review, construction contracts, architects’ agreements and other aspects of commercial construction projects. We represent universities, colleges, commercial businesses and manufacturers. When disputes arise – among owners, financial institutions, architects, engineers and design professionals, contractors, subcontractors, material suppliers or manufacturers –we assist in negotiations or represent the client in litigation, arbitration or dispute resolution.

Bond represents public-sector entities of all types – utilities, IDAs, public authorities, municipalities and schools districts – in connection with the acquisition of private property for public purposes and has significant experience representing condemners in proceedings initiated under the Eminent Domain Proceedings Law (EDPL). 

Our attorneys have successfully acted as condemner’s counsel in the planning, negotiation, “voluntary” acquisition and litigation phases of public projects that required the acquisition of property interests for a variety of major projects, including the development of regional transportation centers, industrial parks, natural gas and electric transmission lines and underground storage caverns.

For those properties that cannot be acquired through voluntary negotiation, Bond works to secure the necessary land or rights through eminent domain. The attorneys who handle these proceedings ensure the process meets all the requirements of the EDPL, including compliance with the New York State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). 

The attorneys in our practice also have specific experience advising clients that receive federal funds with respect to the requirements of the Uniform Relocation Act, and negotiating among affected parties to resolve issues prior to litigation whenever possible. 

Bond attorneys are involved in energy-related matters including the negotiation of agreements with local utilities for the sale of electric power and energy conservation programs; the negotiation of agreements for the purchase and transportation of natural gas (for industrial and institutional clients) directly from producers; the negotiation of agreements by industrial and institutional clients for the purchase of steam from cogeneration facilities; and dealings with the New York Power Authority, the New York Public Service Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 

Bond’s property practice encompasses the full range of environmental issues with an emphasis on regulatory compliance and enforcement including, for example, matters relating to hazardous and nonhazardous wastes, landfill siting and closure, Superfund and RCRA, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, environmental assessments under SEQRA and related litigation. Our experience involves substantial contacts and negotiations with government agencies and, in the course of our representation, work with environmental consulting and engineering firms.

Bond has extensive experience handling landlord/tenant disputes, including issues related to late or unpaid rent, security deposits, disagreements about the habitability of rental property and other tenant and landlord rights issues; drafting and review of rental contracts and lease agreements and other contract-related matters. 

In addition to handling acquisitions and sales of real property, our attorneys assist clients with other aspects of commercial development, including financing, leasing, subdivision, ground leasing and the negotiation and drafting of easements, rights-of-way, license agreements and comprehensive declarations of reciprocal easements and restrictive covenants.

Bond represents clients with respect to all types of construction litigation claims. These matters include bid disputes, prosecuting and defending claims for breach of contract, extra work and delay as well as negligence claims in the design and construction of projects. We also address matters pertaining to standard AIA contracts, mechanics liens and insurance matters. 

Bond attorneys regularly advise clients with respect to workout and extension of troubled loans; restructuring of debt through out-of-court workouts; business planning formulation; and structuring corporate transactions to anticipate and protect against future insolvency issues. 

Bond represents hundreds of municipal entities as well as individuals, businesses and other organizations that must comply with local laws and regulatory controls. Issues frequently handled by our attorneys include subdivision applications and approvals, zoning, legislation, variances, special permits, and similar matters involving towns, villages, cities and counties. 

Bond has been engaged in public finance for over 30 years and we are included in the Red Book (i.e., The Bond Buyer’s Municipal Marketplace) as nationally recognized bond counsel. We have issued approving opinions on more than $2.4 billion of bond and note issues. We are bond counsel for many New York municipalities, school districts, industrial development agencies and other public benefit corporations.

Bond has a long history of representing a wide variety of developers and owners including: private and Fortune 500 companies; colleges, universities and school districts; financial, health care and insurance institutions; and municipalities in all aspects of real estate development.

We have represented developers in assembling and exchanging parcels of land, including exchanges under section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, as well as negotiating construction and permanent loan commitments; option agreements for the purchase or sale of property; contracts for purchase and sale; and easements. We have also represented owners and developers in obtaining tax-exempt and taxable financing through industrial development agencies and have extensive experience in preparing and negotiating payment in lieu of taxes agreements.

We have appeared before many municipal boards to obtain changes of zone, subdivision approvals, special permits and site plan approvals for commercial and industrial facilities, hotels, mining companies, office buildings, restaurants, shopping centers, transmission tower sites and warehouses. We are qualified to act as examining counsel for title insurance companies and have extensive experience in examining title certificates, abstracts of title and in addressing issues of title and title insurance coverage.

Bond attorneys represent clients in a wide range of business combinations and divestitures for both public and private companies, including mergers, stock and asset transactions, leveraged buy-outs, spinoffs, divestitures, tender offers, proxy contests and joint ventures. Transactions range in size and complexity from the sale of a medical practice to the multi-million dollar leveraged buy-out of a manufacturing concern with facilities in several states. 

Wetlands regulations on both the state and federal levels present our clients with interesting challenges on a wide variety of projects ranging from residential development to mining activities to siting a solid waste disposal facility. These challenges result from dual regulation on both the state and federal levels; the continuing changes to the regulations on the federal level; and the progression of land itself from dry areas to wetlands. Our attorneys help our clients in obtaining the necessary wetlands permits by assisting them with the preparation of the necessary applications, development of any necessary mitigation or minimization strategies, and representation before state environmental agencies and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Our goal is to ensure that our clients obtain the necessary permits quickly and cost effectively.

Bond attorneys represent clients in the acquisition, siting and leasing of towers and antennae for wireless communications carriers. We have experience navigating the myriad local, state and federal laws that regulate this area. 

Bond routinely provides legal services to municipal and other clients in connection with zoning applications, site plan applications, subdivision, special permits, exclusionary zoning, moratoria, conditions and exactions and development fees. Our attorneys have counseled clients on numerous projects involving significant permitting requirements; developing legal strategies to minimize potential litigation; advocating client positions before regulatory agencies, host municipalities and citizens groups; and negotiating permit conditions and stipulations.

Our attorneys are well-versed in subdivision applications, subdivision approvals, local legislation, variances, special use permits and other zoning related matters. We frequently attend public hearings on various subjects and represent clients in related court proceedings. Our work has also involved land use planning, advice on the constitutionality of land use controls and the creation of special districts.