Leonard M. Wasserman, Esq. Supports City Hall's Economic Development Goals

    NEW YORK, NY, May 12, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Leonard M. Wasserman, Esq. has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in legal education and consulting in his specialized field of real estate transactional and land use practice.

Leonard M. Wasserman, Esq. currently serves as a consultant to the New York City Economic Development Corporation, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation, and also as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn Law School. In 1968, Mr. Wasserman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree through a Joint Program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America.

After earning his undergraduate degree, he spent more than a year working with the New York City Housing and Development Administration during the administration of Mayor John Lindsay. Although he originally considered pursuing a Master's degree in Urban Planning, after consulting with his supervisor and mentor, he realized that he was "more competent with words than with colored pencils" (no offense intended to his urban planning friends). On the advice of his mentor, he pursued a law degree. He matriculated at Brooklyn Law School in 1969. During his time at Brooklyn Law School, he served on the Law Review and was Articles Editor during the 1971-1972 academic year. Upon graduation, he served as a law clerk to the late Judge Murray Gurfein in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and then spent time in private practice, where, in his last few years there, he was trained as a real estate attorney. After his tenure in private practice, he moved into the world of public service, spending several years in public sector legal positions where he applied his skills as a real estate transactional attorney. In 1985, Mr. Wasserman was appointed as Chief of the Economic Development Division in the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel. He served in that position for almost 27 years and became a specialist in the field of public-private-partnerships (known in the urban development community as the "3P" practice) for real estate development. That specialty also entailed Mr. Wasserman's acquiring an expertise in land use law and its implications for 3P transactions. Although having retired in 2011, he has nonetheless continued to support City Hall in pursuit of its economic development goals, utilizing his expertise in real estate and land use law and practice in his capacity as Special Real Estate Transactional Counsel to both the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation.

Now celebrating his 43rd year in the legal field, he delights in sharing his knowledge and skills with his students, at Brooklyn Law School, as well as with the dedicated employees of the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corporation. He further gains great satisfaction from helping his students establish opportunities for themselves in the world of real estate and land use practice after they graduate from Brooklyn Law School, his beloved alma mater. Mr. Wasserman was recently inducted into Worldwide Registry, and he is a Martindale-Hubbell AV-Preeminent Rated attorney. As an avocation, Mr. Wasserman also enjoys sharing his accumulated knowledge of Talmud and other Jewish texts and liturgy by leading small study groups of his peers at his synagogue and elsewhere. In an effort to give back to one of the fine institutions that have helped him successfully navigate his path through life, Mr. Wasserman has served as a member of the Academic Studies Advisory Board of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan for over 20 years, and he currently serves as the chair of the Academic Committee of said Advisory Board.

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