Join Eric Blaha on March 14, 2024, at 5:00PM, to complete your Fair Housing training requirements! Alternate dates available.

To All Board Members and Property Managers,

If you need to fulfill your mandatory Fair Housing training requirements under the new Westchester County law or other New York State law, please register for free by clicking the link below:

  • CLICK HERE to register for Fair Housing training on Thursday, March 14, 2024, at 5:00 pm
  • CLICK HERE to register for Fair Housing training on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 5:00 pm
  • CLICK HERE to register for Fair Housing training on Monday, June 10, 2024, at 5:00 pm

Eric will cover important topics such as:

  • Introduction to Fair Housing Laws
  • Housing Discrimination
  • Emotional Support Animals
  • Reasonable Accommodations
  • Purchase Application Disclosures
  • Complaints and Lawsuits
  • Fiduciary Duties
  • Q&A, and much more …

To attend a remote training session, you must pre-register by clicking on one of the above links and providing your full name. Plan to attend approximately 2 hours of online training using the Zoom webinar platform to obtain your certificate of completion. Course materials will be made available upon completion of your attendance. Non-Westchester County residents check your local jurisdiction’s training requirements.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

 

Smith Buss & Jacobs 2023 selections by Super Lawyers

Eric BlahaJeffrey BussKenneth JacobsMark Manewitz Thomas Smith have each been selected to the 2023 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Introduction to Smith, Buss & Jacobs, LLP

Founded in 1991, Smith, Buss & Jacobs, LLP combines superlative legal service with a practical approach to delivering real-world solutions that ensure client value. Our exceptional attorneys deliver enhanced expertise across Real EstateCooperative and CondominiumBusiness, Litigation and Appeals and Government Law. We are proud of our outstanding reputation, impeccable industry rating, and large and prestigious client base of developers, condominiums and cooperatives, companies, municipalities and high-profile individuals. We are even more proud of the reasons: results, value, integrity and intelligence.

Smith Buss & Jacobs 2021 selections by Super Lawyers

Eric BlahaJeffrey BussKenneth JacobsMark Manewitz Thomas Smith have each been selected to the 2020 New York Metro Super Lawyers list. Each year, no more than five percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.

Super Lawyers, a Thomson Reuters business, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

Westchester Business Journal: Westchester Attorney, Jeffrey Buss, is Instrumental in $621.5M Refinancing

A Westchester attorney whose firm is based in Yonkers was instrumental in coordinating a real estate refinancing so significant that it was announced jointly on April 28 by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congressman Jamal Bowman and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge.

Even without the fanfare from Albany and Washington, the dollar value of the deal was enough to make people sit up and take notice: $621.5 million. In addition, this was the second time the attorney shepherded putting in place a $621.5 million financing package for the property. Topping it off is that the refinancing makes it possible to spend $124 million on repairs and upgrades for an iconic residential property.

The property is Co-Op City in the Baychester section of the Bronx, and the attorney is Jeffrey Buss, founding member of the law firm Smith Buss & Jacobs LLP, which is based in Yonkers and also has offices in Manhattan and Garden City. Buss has for the past 16 years served as general counsel for Co-Op City’s legal entity, Riverbay Corporation. Riverbay, or Co-Op City, has 15,372 residential units that are home to more than 45,000 people. Co-Op City is easily visible to drivers on the Hutchinson River Parkway and Interstate 95, as well as being so big it’s an easy landmark for flights into and out of LaGuardia Airport.

Click Here to read more.

Partner Jeffrey Buss Coordinates $124,000,000 Co-op City Refinancing with HUD

Governor Hochul, Secretary Fudge, Senator Schumer, and Representative Bowman Announce Approval of Loan Refinancing to Maintain Housing Quality and Affordability for Co-op City

Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, Senator Charles Schumer, and Representative Jamaal Bowman today announced that Riverbay Corporation, the management company for Co-op City, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Wells Fargo, the Mortgage Insurance Fund of the State of New York Mortgage Agency, and NYC Housing Development Corporation have processed and approved Co-op City’s Department of Housing and Urban Development loan refinance. The refinance will maintain long-term housing quality and affordability for the tens of thousands of residents who call Co-op City home. Refinancing provides the housing company with $124 million in proceeds that will be used for capital improvements, including upgrades to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system, façade maintenance, and electrical system upgrades.

CLICK HERE to read more.

Attorney Jacob Amir obtained summary judgment dismissal on behalf of his client, the remaining member of a limited liability company, who was accused of breaching a workout and settlement agreement

The other outgoing member alleged that Jacob’s client agreed to an itemization of income and expenses and make installment payments to the outgoing member in exchange for a transfer of interests. The company was formed as a joint venture to act as general contractor on certain large-scale projects. Jacob used the General Obligations Law to show that the document was not a statement of personal liability, avoiding a claim initially in excess of $800,000, later amended to $400,000 during discovery, and ultimately dismissed.

Attorney Jacob Amir Obtained The Cancellation Of A Mechanics Lien Filed Against A Condominium Building And 48 Condominium Units.

Attorney Jacob Amir obtained the cancellation of a mechanics lien filed against a condominium building and 48 condominium units. The lienor, a general contractor, needed to pay substantial insurance premiums in order to qualify its bid for a project. When the project was delayed, the contractor filed for recovery of its premium costs. Our firm first filed a demand for a Lien Law statement to identify the claimed expenditures, then filed a petition under Lien Law 19(b) to discharge the lien since it was based upon expenses that are not recoverable through the Lien Law. The Court adopted our arguments and canceled the mechanic’s lien in its entirety.