Carol E. Rosenthal, Real Estate Partner. Image credit: Fried Frank
The results are in, and two of the de Blasio administration’s key land use initiatives, Zoning for Quality and Affordability and Mandatory Inclusionary Housing, are not receiving a welcome reception at community boards and borough boards.
In fact, as of this writing, according to CityLand’s vote tracker of the city’s 59 community boards, 45 have voted to oppose Zoning for Quality and Affordability and 38 have voted to oppose Mandatory Inclusionary Housing. Four of the five borough boards have voted to oppose these proposals, with the remaining borough board, Staten Island’s, to vote on December 10. Many borough presidents have issued statements critical of the proposals as well. Such strong opposition is striking as the proposals were thoughtfully crafted and aim to generate more affordable housing, something that everyone seems to want. What’s going on? (read more…)
Carol E. Rosenthal
Land use attorney Carol E. Rosenthal is able to combine her appreciation of architecture, government, and law all in a day’s work as a partner at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. After contemplating a major in art, Rosenthal graduated from Brandeis University with a degree in political science. She then earned her law degree from New York University School of Law and began her legal career as a clerk for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Citing a desire to work on something “concrete,” Rosenthal entered private practice as a transactional real estate attorney.
A major turning point in Rosenthal’s career occurred when she left private practice to become assistant counsel to the New York City Department of City Planning. She based the decision on her longtime interest in government and policy, and desire to have an impact on the City’s future. One of Rosenthal’s major projects while at Planning was helping to create the City’s Inclusionary Housing Program. She recalls the uncertainty at that time about the legal issues related to zoning incentives and how closely the benefits needed to be related to the impact of a proposed project in order to withstand judicial scrutiny. Rosenthal and her colleagues structured the program to require that the developer build the affordable housing geographically close to the development receiving the floor area bonus. This promoted the creation of heterogeneous mixed-income neighborhoods. (read more…)
