Barak Wrobel
Partner
Barak Wrobel
+1.212.513.3348
Overview
Barak Wrobel is an attorney in Holland and Knight's New York office. Mr. Wrobel is a member of the New York City Land Use Team, as well as a regional co-chair of the national Land Use and Government Team.
Mr. Wrobel has extensive experience appearing before city and state agencies and elected officials involved in the development of real property in New York City, including the Department of Buildings, Department of City Planning, City Planning Commission, Board of Standards and Appeals, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Economic Development Corporation, Empire State Development Corporation, New York City Law Department and New York City Housing Authority.
Prior to joining Holland & Knight, Mr. Wrobel served as a city planner and assistant general counsel to the New York City Department of City Planning and the City Planning Commission.
Representative Experience
- Conducts zoning due diligence and analysis and issuance of zoning memorandum prior to acquisition of, developing or lending upon property, including identifying highest and best use of land and improvements
- Appears before city and state agencies, public authorities and elected officials involved in regulating and legislating the use and development of land
- Advises clients surrounding New York state and city environmental review regulations and procedures
- Represent clients in applications under New York City's Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), including for multiple large-scale developments throughout the city, to allow for construction of new residential projects in the Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York neighborhoods of Brooklyn, the development of a 1.2 million-square-foot mixed-use development on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and the development of a 750,000-square-foot mixed-use development in the East Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan
- Prosecutes special permit applications before the City Planning Commission and City Council involving reducing parking requirements applicable to existing buildings to facilitate new affordable housing developments, and to allow for floor area exemptions in connection with an automated parking facility within a new luxury condo development in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan
- Represents developers and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in connection with applications for changes to the City Map
- Represented a client before the Empire State Development Corporation in connection with the approval of a Land Use Improvement Project and General Project Plan allowing for the development of approximately 2 million square feet of new medical office use on a 35-acre surplus parcel of state-owned land
- Represented clients in connection with zoning authorizations and certifications allowing for development of waterfront property, changes to existing privately owned public spaces (POPS), outdoor cafes within existing plazas, and publicly accessible areas and District Improvement Bonuses in Hudson Yards in connection with a 4.3 million-square-foot office complex in the special district
- Drafts zoning text amendments to facilitate projects requiring modifications to the Zoning Resolution
- Drafts and negotiates restrictive declarations, notices of certification, environmental disclosure documents and other legal instruments required in connection with approval of land use applications, large-scale developments, and to facilitate the implementation of environmental mitigation measures required in connection with the issuance of city and/or state discretionary entitlement approvals
- Issuance and review of zoning opinions in connection with financing of development projects
- Drafts and negotiates Zoning Lot Development Agreements, Declaration of Zoning Lot Restrictions, easement agreements and other zoning documents necessary to facilitate assemblages and construction of real property
- Obtains approvals from the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals, including a special permit to facilitate the construction of a new 137-unit building affordable to seniors in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, a variance to allow for the construction of a 21-unit supportive housing project in Astoria Queens, and to allow for the completion of a 27-story hotel in East Midtown Manhattan following change in the zoning resolution requiring such use to obtain a special permit
- Advised and represented a national retailer before the New York City Department of City Planning and Buildings surrounding compliance with and drafting rules pertaining to neighborhood level, last-mile micro-fulfillment delivery centers in New York City
- Advise and represent a major landowner in connection with the city's Economic Development Plan and Rezoning of Downtown Far Rockaway and in connection with the formation of the Downtown Far Rockaway Business Improvement District
- Represented a national solid waste and recycling service provider in the repositioning of 13 acres of waterfront land requiring multiple city and state approvals
- Represented a client in the acquisition, design and construction of last-mile delivery distribution centers throughout Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx with a combined total of more than 2 million square feet
- Experience working on city-wide policy initiatives, including zoning for sustainability (Zone Green and Carbon Neutrality), the New York City Waterfront Revitalization Program (WRP), the City Environmental Quality Review Technical Manual, drafting City Planning rules in order to bring greater predictability to timeframes surrounding city planning land use and environmental review and approval processes
- Obtain Zoning Resolution Determinations (ZRD1) from the New York City Department of Buildings on behalf of clients
- Draft Mayoral Zoning Overrides in connection with publicly sponsored development projects
- Represent a global investment firm in its acquisition of an extensive portfolio of townhouses in Brooklyn and Queens
- Served as a member of the Stakeholders Group that provided feedback and recommendations to the New York City Building and Land Use Approval Streamlining Taskforce, which resulted in the publication of New York Mayor Eric Adams' "Get Stuff Built" Report
- Served as a member of Stakeholders Group that provided feedback and recommendations to the Department of City Planning surrounding City of Yes for Carbon Neutrality zoning text amendment
- Served as a member of Stakeholders Group that provided feedback and recommendations to the Department of City Planning Green Fast Track City Environmental Quality Review (CEQR) Type II rules
- Department of City Planning Applicant Working Group member
Credentials
Education
- Brooklyn Law School, J.D.
- Hunter College of the City University of New York, Master of Urban Planning
- Western Washington University, B.A., Law & Diversity Program
Bar Admissions/Licenses
- New York
Memberships
- Jewish Partisan Educational Foundation, Board Member, 2017-Present; Current Member
- New York City Bar Association, Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee, Member, 2006-2014; Secretary, 2008-2011; Member, Class of 2017-2019; Chairperson, 2019-2022; Current Member
- New York City Bar Association, Housing and Urban Development Committee, Member, 2014-2017
- Department of City Planning Applicant Working Group, Member, 2017-2023; Current Member
Honors & Awards
- New York Metro Super Lawyers magazine, Land Use and Zoning, 2024
- The Best Lawyers in America guide, Land Use and Zoning Law, 2020, 2021
- Lawyers Alliance Pro Bono Cornerstone Award, 2020
- Holland & Knight Pro Bono All-Star, 2019, 2020
