Tag Archives: Brooklyn Law School

Reiss on New Mortgage Regime

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Loans.org quoted me in a story, CFPB Rules Reiterate Current and Future Lending Practices. It reads in part,

David Reiss, professor of law at the Brooklyn Law School, said there could be other long-term effects due to this high DTI ratio since the lending rules will likely remain for several decades.

If the rules remain intact, the high DTI number can still be lowered at a later time. For instance, if few defaults occur when the bar is set at 43 percent, the limit might increase. Conversely, if a large number of defaults occur, the limit will decrease even further.

Reiss hopes that the agencies overseeing the rule will make these changes based on empirical evidence.

“I’m hopeful that regulation in this area will be numbers driven,” he said.

Despite the wording, Bill Parker, senior loan officer at Gencor Mortgage, said that lenders are technically “not required to ensure borrowers can repay their loans.” He said lenders are legally required to make a “good faith effort” for reviewing documents and facts about the borrower and indicating if he or she can repay the debt.

“If they do so, following the directives of the CFPB, then they are protected against suit by said borrower in the future,” Parker said. “If they can’t prove they investigated as required, then they lose the Safe Harbor and have to prove the borrower has not suffered harm because of this.”

The statute of limitations for the CFPB law is three years from the start of loan payments. After that time period, the lender is no longer required to provide evidence of loan compliance.

Even though the amendment could impact the current lending market, experts told loans.org that the CFPB’s standards will make a greater impact on the future of the housing industry.

Reiss believes that the stricter rules will create a sustainable lending market.

Reiss on Urban Planning Legacy of the Bloomberg Administration

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The BLS Real Estate Society is sponsoring The Zoning and Urban Planning Legacy of the Bloomberg Administration on Monday, November 25th from 6:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. in the Student Lounge on the first floor of Brooklyn Law School, 250 Joralemon Street. The press release reads:

Come hear two real estate experts discuss and debate zoning and urban planning issues and the legacy of the outgoing Bloomberg Administration.

Panelists

Mitchell Korbey ’03, Chair of Zoning and Land Use Group, Herrick Feinstein

David Reiss, BLS Real Estate Professor (previously Paul Weiss, and Morrison & Foerster)

No RSVP is required for this event. Contact Rafe Serouya at rafe.serouya@brooklaw.edu for more information.

Mitch’s bio reads in part,

Prior to joining Herrick, Mitch served for six years as commissioner of the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and as director of the New York City Department of City Planning’s Brooklyn office, where he guided Brooklyn’s first mixed use zoning districts through the public review process and spearheaded plans for the rezoning and revitalization of a number of neighborhoods, including Williamsburg and Greenpoint.  Prior to running the Brooklyn office, Mitch was deputy director of the Staten Island office and served in the City Planning Department’s Housing and Economic Development Division.

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Mitch is an Adjunct Professor in Hunter College Graduate School’s Urban Affairs and Planning Department where he teaches Land Use Law and leads a seminar entitled “Lawyers and Planners in the Development Process.”  His insights on real estate development and the intricacies of local zoning laws have appeared in major real estate and business publications, including Crain’s, The New York Times and The Real Deal.

He is also a co-author of Herrick’s land use and zoning blog, ZONE, which keeps readers up-to-date on the latest issues in land use and environmental law.

Brooklyn’s New Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship

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Brooklyn Law School has announced a new venture, the Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship (CUBE), that will encompass much of the work that Brad Borden and I do, including this very blog.  The press release reads:

Brooklyn has become a world magnet for new businesses. Today, the Brooklyn Tech Triangle (DUMBO, Downtown Brooklyn, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard) ranks second only to Silicon Alley as the largest technology hub in the nation. Brooklyn Law School is intent on playing an integral role in ensuring the borough’s promise as the home for future innovators and entrepreneurs.

The Center for Urban Business Entrepreneurship (CUBE) – an extraordinary venture launching in November – will harness this energy. CUBE will be the hub for exploring legal issues surrounding entrepreneurship, and for providing effective legal representation and support for new commercial and not-for-profit businesses – while also training the next generation of business lawyers to advise and participate in these sectors. CUBE’s express purpose is to offer the legal tools to support and help build the start-up successes of tomorrow and beyond. The Center will reinforce and capitalize on Brooklyn’s role as a haven for business, media, energy, technology, creative arts, and social enterprise innovators.

Marking CUBE’s launch will be the Entrepreneur Lawyers Showcase on Thursday, November 14. The event will bring together BLS alumni and students who are exploring new ways to represent innovative entrepreneurs; trailblazing paths for the entrepreneurial lawyer and the legally-trained entrepreneur; and embarking on ventures of their own.

In addition to its base at the Law School, CUBE will be headquartered at two locations: 55 Washington Street in the heart of DUMBO, and 15 MetroTech Center. Space has been generously provided by David and Jed Walentas, Principals of Two Trees Management Co., LLC., and Forest City Ratner Companies, respectively.

“Brooklyn has always been a place where great ideas are born and nurtured, from the start of the American Revolution up to today’s Digital Revolution,” said Dean Allard. “CUBE will be a home for the next generation of revolutionaries, pioneers, entrepreneurs, and leaders. It also reflects the very best of Brooklyn Law School. In the public sector, our pro bono, government, criminal and civil justice, and community work in the U.S. and abroad – such as through the Sparer Fellowship Program – is renowned. In the private sector, we lead in areas such as international business law, business regulation, bankruptcy, and compliance, among others. CUBE presents powerful new opportunities centered on the role of law for emerging commercial and not-for-profit businesses. It adds another component of our comprehensive curriculum for the 21st century.”

The curriculum will focus on advanced training in six specific areas: Real Estate Development; Technology; Cre­ative Arts and Media; Community Deal-Making; Energy; and Social Enterprise. A three-pronged approach will define the experience:

foundational courses focused on entrepreneurship;

in-house clinics and other skills-focused courses (including the successful Business Boot Camp) that allow hands-on training with expe­rienced attorneys; and,

industry-specific courses, workshops, pro bono opportunities, student organizations (Start-Up Club, Business Law Society, IP Law Society), panels, conferences, symposia, journals, and other activities for burgeoning entrepre­neurial attorneys.

Students completing CUBE’s coursework in all three categories will have the opportunity to graduate with an Entrepreneurship Certificate at graduation.

CUBE will also promote entrepreneurial thinking through one-year fellowships, supporting third-year students’ projects designed to improve legal representation and support of start-up companies and growing enterprises. Adding to this unique approach will be a CUBE Legal Project Competition to encourage innovation and entrepreneur­ship. Students will pitch their projects, with winners selected as Fellows by a panel of prominent judges, many of whom will be entrepreneurs themselves. Seed money will also be available to help jumpstart the winning proposals.

CUBE builds on a foundation of highly respected programs, such as the Brooklyn Law Incubator & Policy Clinic (BLIP), founded by Professor Jonathan Askin; the Corporate and Real Estate Clinic, founded by Professor Debra Bechtel; and the Community Development Clinic founded by Professor David Reiss. Earlier this year, Askin was tapped by the European Commission to help guide implementation of similar clinics world­wide, part of a European Union-funded pilot program. CUBE will serve as the U.S. “landing strip” for a European consortium of 16 academic partners, which includes Queen Mary University of London Centre for Commercial Law Studies in England, the KU Leuven Interdisciplinary Centre for Law and ICT in Belgium, and the University of Amsterdam, Institute for Information Law, in the Netherlands.

The launch of CUBE is made possible through the vision of BLS entrepreneurs: Evan B. Azriliant ’92, Partner, S & E Azriliant, P.C.; Robert B. Catell, Chairman, Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center, Stony Brook University and Former Chairman and CEO of KeySpan/National Grid; Lawrence I. Feldman ’74, Chief Executive Officer, Subway Development Corp., and Diane Feldman; Stanley M. Grossman ’67, Senior Counsel, Pomerantz, Grossman, Hufford, Dahlstrom, and Nancy Grossman; Debra G. Humphreys ’84, Founder and Chair of Board of Trustees, Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School, and David C. Humphreys, President and CEO, Tamko Building Products Inc.; and Gary M. Rosenberg ’74, Partner, Rosenberg & Estis P.C.