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| SPRING 2020 NEWSLETTER
Vol. I, Issue 3
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February 21, 2020
Dear Friends,
While the 2019-20 academic year has been marked by a sense of satisfaction in all we have accomplished since we first opened our doors, that satisfaction was tempered in recent months by sorrow at the passing of Professor Vincent DiLorenzo. Over the past three decades, Professor DiLorenzo inspired an interest in real estate in generations of students, myself included. More recently, as a member of our Advisory Board, Professor DiLorenzo provided sage guidance and advice as we designed our new real estate courses, Fellowship program, and other initiatives. He will be sorely missed. We have included a brief “in memoriam” section in his honor in this newsletter.
This newsletter provides a window into activities and developments at the Mattone Institute since September 2019, all of which have been facilitated by our countless dedicated alumni who contributed their time and resources, including, of course, the Mattone family, without whom none of this would have been possible. Thank you all!
Sincerely,
Robert J. Sein
Director
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EVENTS
During this period our events attracted, in the aggregate, hundreds of attendees. These included:
Semi-Annual Student Information Session. On September 12th, Rob Sein briefed students on the Law School’s real estate law programs and professional pathways in real estate law.
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Site Visit: Grand Central Station.
The Mattone Institute and the Office of Graduate Studies co-sponsored a visit to the Grand Central Development Project and tour of Grand Central Station on September 20. Thanks to Fred Cerullo ’86 and Grand Central Partnership staff for organizing the tour!
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Fifth Semiannual Recent Alumni Perspectives Event.
On October 16th, Nandini Chowdhury '18, Richard Cordero '18, Danny Ramrattan '13, James West '16, Michael Turo '16 and Naldine Philistin '15 returned to campus for networking and a roundtable discussion with students. Panelists discussed their personal career paths and professional development pointers. This event was co-sponsored by the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal.
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Site Visit: National September 11th Memorial & Museum. On October 18th, Real Estate Fellows and other students interested in real estate law visited the Memorial & Museum. The visit included a tour led by Charlie Dunne ’02, EVP for Security, followed by a meeting with Charlie and Noelle Lilien '99, General Counsel.
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CMP Commercial Lease Negotiations Course. On October 26th, Rob Sein and Real Estate Fellows Andrew Fisher ’20 and Mark LoBiondo ’20 taught a class on Commercial Lease Negotiations at the Chinatown Manpower Project (CMP) in Manhattan. The course was part of 10-week “Small Business Bootcamp” for small business owners and entrepreneurs sponsored by CMP and the New York State Entrepreneurial Assistance Program. This marked the second year in which the Mattone Institute provided instructional support for CMP’s programming. [1]
[1] On January 23rd, CMP’s headquarters on 70 Mulberry Street was devastated by a 5-alarm fire. They are in the process of attempting to resume operations at an alternate location. The Mattone Institute has offered to assist in any way that we can. We wish for speedy recovery of those injured in the fire, and a quick return to normalcy for those affected by the fire.
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Open House for Prospective Students Interested in Real Estate Law. On October 29, the Law School held its first-ever Open House for prospective law students focused on real estate law. Students heard about the Law School from Dean Alicia Meehan and Admissions Office staff, and Rob Sein briefed them on the Mattone Institute and the Law School’s real estate law programs.
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Landlord-Tenant Practice in Housing Court: A Presentation by the Right to Counsel Coalition. On October 30, the Mattone Institute and the Clinical Education Office co-sponsored this panel discussion, where presenters filled students in on what landlord-tenant attorneys do on a daily basis, and the many job opportunities available in this area of practice. Our new Tenant’s Rights Advocacy Clinic (see below) was also discussed. Thanks to Rodrigo Santilices (Bronx Defenders), Lorena Lopez (Catholic Migration Services) and Amee Master (Legal Aid Society Queens) for serving on this panel.
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Symposium: What Real Estate Lawyers Need to Know About Blockchain Technology. Our annual symposium was held on November 19th at Paul Hastings LLP. Two panels of industry leaders discussed blockchain technology and what it means for real estate law practice now and in years to come. The program, which provided attorney attendees with two CLE credits, was divided into two panel discussions. The first panel, Introduction to Blockchain and its Real Estate Applications, was moderated by Rob Sein, and consisted of Kris Ferranti, partner at Shearman & Sterling LLP, Joshua Ashley Klayman, U.S. Head of Fintech and Head of Blockchain and Digital Assets at Linklaters LLP, and James Thanasules ‘95, Senior VP and Chief New York Counsel at AmTrust Title. The second panel, moderated by Bruce DePaola ’91, addressed a particularly hot topic, Security Tokens and Real Estate Capital Markets Applications. Panelists on the second panel included Mark Elenowitz, President of Horizon Globex, Mark Fawer, Partner at Greenspoon Marder LLP, and Josh Klayman (who sat in for Alexander Labowitz, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Cadre, who was unable to attend due to illness).
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Annual Meeting of NYSBA Real Property Law Section. On January 30th, the Mattone Institute sponsored the Annual Meeting of the New York State Bar Association Real Property Law Section at the New York Hilton Midtown. The event allowed the Mattone Institute to provide information to the approx. 200 attendees about the Mattone Institute and the qualifications that St. John’s Law students bring to the table as potential employees. Each attendee was offered a souvenir Mattone Institute pen upon registration. Fellows Andrew Stanko ’21, Steven Cecere ’20, Alexander Woo ’20 and Brandon Auerbach ’21 were in attendance and had the opportunity to broaden their connections to the New York real estate bar through networking with the attendees.
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Advisory Board Meeting. On February 4th, the Mattone Institute Advisory Board met at Ladder Capital. This was the first Advisory Board meeting to include Real Estate Fellows: Steve Cecere ’20, Edward Belotte ’21 and Andrew Stanko ’21. Thanks to the Advisory Board members and Fellows for the great attendance and discussion, and to Ladder Capital for hosting!
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Site Visit: Battery Park City. On February 7th, students visited George Tsunis ’92, Chairman of the Battery Park City Authority, at BPCA’s offices, for an eye-opening presentation on the BPCA and their initiatives in the key areas of sustainability, resiliency and affordability. At the meeting, George dispensed sage advice on career and personal development, including the importance of using using one’s law degree to pursue the greater good. Thanks to George, Susie Kim, Nicholas Sbordone, Alexis Torres, and the rest of the BPCA staff who made our visit possible.
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Annual “Bridge the Gap” CLE Event: Unearthing the Landmines Buries in the New York Residential Real Estate Contract. Our annual BTG CLE event was held on the weekend of February 8-9. Vincent Gallo once again ably chaired an all-star panel which included Joseph M. Mattone, Jr. ’86, Professor John P. Clarke ’57, Paul E. Malon ’81, Hon. Philip S. Straniere and Catherine Schiavone. Attendees were treated to an unexpected surprise when Joseph Mattone, Sr. ’55 dropped in to chat about his career spanning six decades and the importance to attorneys of lifelong learning! Thanks to all the presenters as well as our sponsors Capital One (its second consecutive year of sponsorship!) and Hallmark Abstract Service LLC.
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Real Estate Honors Scholar Dinner. On February 10th, our Real Estate Honors Scholars joined several of the Real Estate Fellows for an informal dinner in the Faculty Library. Great conversation and fellowship!
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Information Session. On February 10th, Rob Sein provided an information session for students on real estate law, career pathways in this area, and the Mattone Institute programs. At least one information session is held each semester.
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| JOIN US: UPCOMING EVENTS
We have many exciting events on tap for the spring semester. Please save the date for the following:
Wednesday, March 18th, 1:00-2:30PM
Sixth Semiannual Recent Alumni Perspectives Event. Event co-sponsored with the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal. Location: Private Dining Room.
Tuesday, March 31st, 6:30-8:30PM
Mattone Institute Annual Reception. Mattone Institute Alumni Recognition Award to be presented. Location: TBA.
Tuesday, April 28th, 6:00-8:00PM
An Evening With Executive Coach John Mattone. Location: Forchelli Deegan Terrana, Uniondate, New York.
Please stay tuned for additional events, including an event featuring world-renowned executive coach John Mattone, and the annual NYRPLJ networking event! Students who are members of the Real Property Law Society TWEN group will be notified of events by e-mail.
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MEET OUR NEW REAL ESTATE FELLOWS!
Congratulations to Edward Belotte ’22, Federica Marini ’22 and Andrew Stanko ’22, who were chosen to be Real Estate Fellows starting spring semester 2020! They join in the Program the existing Real Estate Fellows Norah Alimonos ’21E, Brandon Auerbach ’21, Joseph Carlo ’20, Steven Cecere ’20, Kayla Rae Dimatos ’20, Andrew Fisher ’20, Fiona Hogan ’21, Mark LoBiondo ’20 and Alexander Woo ’20.
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Edward Belotte ’22
At St. John’s Law, Edward serves as a staff member for The New York International Law review, treasurer of the St. John’s Black Law Student Association, and a teaching assistant for Dean Michael A. Simons’ Criminal Law class. He has also served as a research assistant, a teaching fellow for Introduction to Law, and served on the Dean's Advisory Council for Diversity and Inclusion. Edward is currently interning at Oppenheimer & Co., a multinational investment bank with over $25 billion in assets under management. There, he counsels financial advisors & management on regulatory relations, litigation defense, and risk management. Additionally, he responds to regulatory inquiries from the SEC and FINRA. In the summer of 2019, Edward was a judicial intern to Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke in the Eastern District of New York, where he conducted research and assisted in drafting a multi-issue judicial opinion. Edward graduated from Providence College with a B.S. in Finance and a B.A. in Political Science. At Providence, he completed an International Business Studies program in Milan, Italy. Edward is a graduate of Chaminade High School. As a Real Estate Fellow, Edward is looking forward to exploring New York’s preeminent real estate market and connecting with fellow St. John’s students and alumni.
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Federica Marini ’22
Federica grew up in Italy, in a rural village in the Milan area. She moved to the United States to attend Agnes Scott College, where she double-majored in History and French. She is currently a 2L at St. John's School of Law and a member of the St. John's Law Review. Federica works as a law clerk at Shiryak, Bowman, Anderson, Gill & Kadochnikov, LLP, where she focuses on landlord-tenant, foreclosure, and bankruptcy issues. Federica wrote her law review note on a foreclosure defense issue that she encountered while working as a law clerk her 1L summer. Next summer, Federica will work for Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.
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Andrew Stanko ’22
Drew graduated from Villanova University in 2018, where he earned a B.A. in Economics with a minor in English Literature. At St. John’s Law, Drew is a member of both the Real Property and Corporate and Securities Law Societies, and a staff member on the Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development (JCRED). As a member of JCRED he is writing his Journal Note on the current antitrust investigations into Facebook. During his 1L summer, Drew worked as a judicial intern for the Honorable Gerald Pappert of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. As an intern at the EDPA, Drew conducted legal research and assisted in the drafting of judicial opinions. During the Fall of his 2L year, Drew worked closely with President/CEO, Alfred Cerullo, as an extern at the Grand Central Partnership, a Business Improvement District (BID) in East Midtown. Currently, Drew works as an extern at Romer Debbas, LLP, a boutique real estate law firm in New York, NY, where he is conducting due diligence related to commercial real estate transactions and assisting in the preparation of loan documentation. As a Real Estate fellow, Drew hopes to immerse himself in the industry from both a professional and academic standpoint.
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CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR NEW 1L REAL ESTATE HONORS SCHOLARS!
Our Real Estate Honors Scholars, Meghan Paola ’22 (SUNY Binghamton), Olivia Pizzo ’22 (Fordham University), William Buzzini ’22 (Rabbinical Seminary of America) and Lorena Niyazov ’22 (St. John’s University), were selected for the Honors Scholar program from among a very competitive field of applicants. Each Honors Scholar in good standing has the right to join the Fellowship Program if (s)he desires to do so as a rising 2L.
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WELCOME TO THE ADVISORY BOARD!
Our recently-formed Emerging Leaders Committee recognizes the contributions of some of our most accomplished and engaged recent alumni. In so doing, it is intended to facilitate engagement with our many recent alumni practicing in the field of real estate law, and ensure continuity of our Advisory Board in coming years. We are excited to welcome the following alumni to the Emerging Leaders Committee. Each of them has already made extraordinary contributions to our work, providing a valuable example for our students of what it is possible to achieve in the field of real estate law, and what it means to give back to the next generation of students!
• Maria Castiglie ’14, Associate, Morrison & Foerster LLP
• Max Patinkin ’13, Associate, Paul Hastings LLP
• Stephanie Rainaud ’14, Associate, Holland & Knight LLP
• Max Rayetsky ’14, Associate, Zetlin & DeChiara LLP
• Nicole Woolard ’09, Corporate Vice President and Assistant GC, AECOM
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CONGRATULATONS TO STEVEN CECERE ’20, RECIPIENT OF THE 2020 MELVYN MITZNER SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE NYSBA REAL PROPERTY LAW SECTION
We are delighted to report that our Timothy J. Meehan Real Estate Fellow, Steven Cecere ’20, was awarded the 2020 Melvyn Mitzner Scholarship by the NYSBA Real Property Law Section at its annual lunch. The Section awards the $5,000 scholarship each year to a second or third year law student based on a competitive application process. The criteria for judging include, among other things, demonstrated interest in real property law, a record of academic excellence, maturity, integrity, professionalism; and leadership and work experience.
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NEW COURSE AND CLINICAL OFFERINGS
• Real Estate Workouts and Bankruptcy – Real Estate Workouts and Bankruptcy is a two credit course that focuses on the real estate and bankruptcy law consequences of loan defaults by, and insolvencies of, real estate owners and operators. It is open to both JD and Bankruptcy LLM students. Chris Palmer ’94 and Francisco Vasquez ’94 co-taught the course in an intensive format (5 class sessions) over the January intersession. Kudos to Professors Palmer and Vasquez for providing their 12 students with an incredibly comprehensive treatment of this important subject matter in a very short period of time!
• Tenants’ Rights Advocacy Clinic – This new one-semester 4-credit clinic is a partnership between the Law School and The Legal Aid Society Queens Neighborhood Office (QNO). The clinic is taught by Amee Master, Supervising Attorney at the QNO. Students represent income-eligible tenants residing in Queens who are facing eviction and asserting their rights to safe and habitable conditions, proper rents, and freedom from harassment. They work at least 14 hours a week at the QNO and also attend a two-hour weekly seminar. This clinic is being offered for the first time this spring semester. Enrollment is capped at 6 students. We see significant interest among the student body in the landlord-tenant area of practice: the clinic, which was capped at 6 students, was over-subscribed.
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IN MEMORIAM
PROFESSOR VINCENT DILORENZO
The Mattone Institute joins the rest of the St. John’s Law community and countless friends and family in mourning the death of Professor Vincent DiLorenzo on Thursday, November 28, 2019. A mainstay of the Law School’s faculty for over three decades, Professor DiLorenzo taught Property, Banking Law, Real Estate Transactions, and Condos & Co-ops to generations of students, many of whom he inspired to pursue careers in real estate law. In addition to his teaching activities, Professor DiLorenzo served as faculty advisor to the N.Y. Real Property Law Journal for 13 years, for which the student editorial board honored him this past September. Professor DiLorenzo was an inaugural member of the Mattone Institute’s Advisory Board, and his advice and guidance was instrumental in establishing the Real Estate Fellowship Program and our new advanced real estate law course offerings. His widely published legal scholarship includes: The Law of Condominiums and Cooperatives, Banks and the Securities Law Volume 5, Treatise on Banking Law, New York Condominium and Cooperative Law, and Basic Legal Transactions. In addition to his service on our Advisory Board, Professor DiLorenzo was a member of the Executive Committee and Publications Committee of the New York State Bar Association, a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a senior research fellow at the Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John’s University.
Memorial gifts may be made to the Professor Vincent DiLorenzo Scholarship Fund at St. John’s Law by way of this link: https://www.stjohns.edu/law-giving (select “Vincent DiLorenzo Scholarship Fund” on the dropdown menu) or by contacting Brian Woods, Associate Dean for Law School Advancement, at 718-990-5792 or woodsb1@stjohns.edu.
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GET INVOLVED!
Our work is fueled by our ever-expanding connections with students, alumni and others in the real estate industry. If you have not already been involved with our programs and activities, we invite you to do so!
Prospective students, please consider attending an open house. In addition, the Admissions Office offers open houses monthly and tours daily. Check the schedule and reserve your space at https://www.stjohns.edu/visit-campus, or call 718-990-6474 to schedule an individual appointment with our admissions team. Rob Sein would also be delighted to meet or speak with you to discuss our real estate law programs in more detail. Please feel free to email him at seinr@stjohns.edu to schedule a time to meet or speak.
Students interested in real estate law are encouraged to join the Real Property Law Society. As a member of the Real Property Law Society, you will be notified of real estate-focused events and will have access to the resources posted to the RPLS TWEN site. Please contact any member of the Executive Committee or Rob Sein in order to sign up. In addition, if you are contemplating real estate law as a career path, Rob Sein is happy to meet with you to discuss your academic planning and pre-professional development. In order to schedule a meeting, please email him at seinr@stjohns.edu.
Alumni and friends, please consider helping advance our mission by attending our programs; hiring a St. John’s Law student or graduate; hosting a site visit, meeting with students, or collaborating on our programming. Please contact Rob Sein at 718-990-7372 or seinr@stjohns.edu to learn more about how you can get involved. Please also consider a financial donation to help support our programming. To learn more about how you, or your firm, can financially support us, please contact Brian Woods, Associate Dean for Alumni Advancement at 718-990-5792 or woodsb1@stjohns.edu. Or make an online donation (select “Centers” and “Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law” from the dropdown menus).
STAY UP-TO-DATE / MORE INFORMATION
Follow us online and on social media!
Website: https://www.stjohns.edu/law/mattone-family-institute-real-estate-law
Linkedin: Linkedin.com/showcase/mattone-institute
Twitter: @mattoneinst
For more information, contact:
Robert J. Sein
Director, Mattone Family Institute for Real Estate Law
St. John’s University School of Law
8000 Utopia Parkway
Queens, NY, 11439
Email: seinr@stjohns.edu
Telephone: 718-990-7372
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