 Victor
E. Smukler
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Position: |
Member |
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Address: |
Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C.
40 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005 |
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Phone: |
(212 ) 471-8471 (Direct
Dial) |
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Fax: |
(212) 232-6671 |
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E-mail: |
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Business Card:
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Victor E. Smukler specializes in sophisticated real estate
development, construction and project finance in multi-state and
international practice with more than fifty years of experience, the first
twenty-five of which were on the corporate side (as CEO/President) of
entities involved in road construction, multi-family development, housing
development, shopping center development, design engineering, aggregate
supply, bulk commodity dockage and transshipping and trucking; and the next
twenty-five and currently, counseling in many of these same areas. He has
also litigated in many related areas; e.g. disputes regarding: commercial
landlord-tenant, land use and eminent domain, construction arbitration,
labor law, joint-venture, real estate contract and specific performance and
bankruptcy. His clients relate with confidence to his counsel rooted in
“real world” experience.
He has become increasingly involved in alternate energy initiatives, a
natural outgrowth of his real estate and development experience. The
placement of solar and wind energy plants involves the politics of land use,
the dynamics of connecting with the electrical grid and the economics and
methodology of construction. Mr. Smukler has experience in smart energy
utilization encapsulated in the The Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ which encourages and accelerates
global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices
through the creation and implementation of universally understood and
accepted tools and performance criteria. The application of LEED standards
to new construction, renovations, commercial interiors, retail and site
development has made LEED expertise a necessary component of professional
real estate practice.
Mr. Smukler has skills in environmental law. Environmental considerations
are part of due diligence involved in every sale or purchase of real estate,
site development and renovation. Specialists in environmental law are almost
always retained in his real estate practice.
He currently serves as Chair of the Real Estate Group, setting quality
control standards and systems and staffing to enable the efficient delivery
of the highest quality service from the outstanding members of the Group. He
also counsels the Corporate Group on real estate due diligence matters
involved in mergers and acquisitions, and works closely with the Tax Group.
He also coordinates transaction activity with local counsel throughout the
United States.
Typical Recent Litigation. In litigation, recently Mr. Smukler has acted as
lead counsel in representation of a mutual fund to successfully regain
possession of a real estate development which the fund had financed by the
purchase of the entire issuance of industrial development agency bonds,
after the default of the developer. This litigation has a second act, in
that the regained real estate became the subject of a condemnation
proceeding under New York State’s Eminent Domain Procedure Law (“EDPL”),
with a subsequent trial on the valuation of the Fee and the Fixtures. He is
also involved in landlord-tenant litigation arising out of the demolition of
a Brooklyn facility scheduled for new construction of a mixed-use
condominium structure. He is also lead counsel on a brokerage dispute.
Typical Recent Transactions. Mr. Smukler has been deeply engaged in solar
plant placement in Southwest United States and Israel. He has recently
resolved major environmental issues involved in the sale of an industrial
plant in upstate New York. He is presently involved in the development of an
outpatient facility to be built on a site with environmental issues. He
negotiated resolution of major environmental issues in the formation of
joint venture in North Carolina which involved utilization of federal and
state “brown-field” benefits. He is also advising on the expansion of a
shopping center in Austin, Texas, including land use issues, permitting,
construction contracts, formation of a joint venture limited partnership,
financing and leasing. He handles commercial leasing, office and retail, for
many real estate clients, currently involving an office lease transaction in
the Flat Iron District of NYC, retail leases in Bastrop, Texas and a
maintenance facility for a Japanese motor manufacturer in Ontario,
California. He has just completed the sale of an industrial facility in
upper New York State for an international manufacturer to a purchaser who
financed the purchase with IDA bonds. He is currently advising on the
financing and acquisition of facilities for a Not-For-Profit NGO whose
mission is the housing and treatment of AIDS patients and mentally ill
patients.
Mr. Smukler received his B.S. in Chemistry at Case University in Cleveland,
Ohio in 1953 and his J.D. from the Law School at the same university in
1978. He is admitted in Ohio and New York. He is active in Bar Association
work, having served as Chair of the Law Reform Committee of the New York
County Lawyers Association, and currently as Co-Chair of the Real Estate
Committee of that Association. He is also a member of the New York State
Bar, the Association of the Bar of New York City, and the American Bar
Association. He has lectured on land use procedures and commercial leasing.
He has served on many Not-For-Profit Boards, including most recently as
board member and President of the Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center, which
includes Merkin Hall; and in the past on the boards of the Cleveland
Orchestra and the Cleveland Chamber Music Society. Mr. Smukler is rated AV,
and is a Lifetime Fellow of the American Bar Association.
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