From the Editor: COVID-19, WARE & NYC Metro Real Estate
For nearly a year Covid-19 has forced us all to operate in variously creative if disrupted ways, largely remotely and via Zoom as we’ve tried to also remain safe, sane and healthy. Real estate has been all over the place with exoduses from the upper east side and other neighborhoods to country homes, and sales to leave city homes in exchange for new suburban ones. Many have left rentals(both residential and commercial) creating a glut with lowered rents for some, loss of rent and rental tenants for others, and looming evictions and foreclosures for untold numbers of others.
These circumstances have created problems for some of our practices and opportunities for others. A couple of members, in the wake of the difficult balancing act between paying office rents versus protecting their health, or for other reasons altogether, have decided to retire from the full-time practice of law.
The strength of WARE has always been our 24-7 availability to access and support for one another and to share expertise and experience via the listserv, through our meetings, and via the network of our various camaraderies. We will continue to host monthly WARE discussions via Zoom for the foreseeable future.
Upcoming February ZOOM Meeting
Our next Member Roundtable Meeting will be held via Zoom on Thursday February 11, 2021 at 6 pm. Join Zoom Meeting: https://files.mail-list.com/m/ware/40904649.html
Meeting ID: 827 9791 3620
Passcode: 948116
We expect to discuss the new Corporate Transparency Act and share our respective ongoing experiences, adventures and misadventures in real estate lawyering during a seemingly never-ending Covid-19, and to share thoughts and support as to how best to sustain our practices and our lives as the pandemic continues.
Dues
All WARE Members should have received their 2021 dues invoice via snail mail by now; for some this will also include 2020. Kindly remit via the envelope provided at your earliest. Thanks to those who have already responded. If you have not received the mailing or your address has changed, please contact Fern Mehler (fmehler@proskauer.com). We can only accept checks at this time.
Vaccine Locators
Check on availability of Covid-19 vaccines through either the New York State vaccination sites or the New York City vaccine finder. On February 15 the eligibility list expands to any age provided certain health conditions exist, proven with a doctor’s note or other indicia of specified evidence. Good luck, as vaccines haven’t been easy to find especially in the NYC area. A new resource for locating vaccines in New York City is https://nycvaccinelist.com
Welcome to New Members
Welcome to our newest member Caroline Harris of the law firm of GoldmanHarris LLC. Caroline has worked for several decades in both public and private sectors including as Deputy Counsel to the Department of City Planning and at major law firms. Her expertise includes zoning and land use and all that encompasses. We’re glad to have Caroline on board with us!
First Zoom Member Meetings During COVID-19
Since New York City shut down on March 12, 2020 we’ve hosted a number of membership roundtable meetings via Zoom. The first was attended by over 30 WARE members, the second by nearly 20. It’s always heartening to see everyone’s faces again and hear each other’s voices, but as importantly to exchange experiences and ideas about the difficulties and craziness of practicing real estate law during a global pandemic that has upended New York City real estate.
Payoff Bank-Attorney Spreadsheet
Kudos to our industrious, generous, knowledgeable and tech-minded member Pamela Walker who chairs the Committee on Resources & Technology. After years of hard work on this, Pam provided the membership with her chart of pay-off banks and contact information gleaned from member requests and responses over the years. WARE Coop Payoff closing Atty List – Feb 2021 (c) WARE Inc.xlsx
PPP (PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM): Spring 2021
A reminder that solo practitioners and small firms can qualify for a (second or first) PPP loan as long as certain SBA conditions are met. One of the main criteria is that your business income in any quarter of 2020 must have been at least 25% less than the same quarter in 2019. You can apply whether or not you applied for or received a previous PPP loan. If your own bank is either not yet accepting applications or is not easy to deal with you can also, to the best of my current knowledge, submit your application through Pay Pal and possibly through Blue Vine. Don’t forget to also apply for forgiveness of last year’s loan if you received one and would qualify for forgiveness; these must be processed through the same lender from which you received any prior loan. The new round of PPP loans must be applied for by March 31, 2021 but is on a first-come basis until its funding runs out. CONSULT YOUR ACCOUNTANT & APPLY EARLY.
Retirement, Semi-Retirement, Next Acts
Congratulations to our first WARE retirees, Jill M. Dube and Judith Turkel, ever the trailblazers as they ease into retirement from full-time law practice. After many decades in practice, Jill has finally begun winding down her law firm. In addition to her wide-ranging real estate expertise, Jill is a devoted dog lover, an expert baker and a NYCphile. Judith also dissolved her practice after many decades hastened by Covid’s impact and the premature shuttering of her office. She expects to continue a part-time practice while re-prioritizing her life, spending more time on her passions which include efforts to save both democracy and world wildlife. We wish both Jill and Judith the very best in their lives-after-law and look forward to their continued presence in WARE and the valuable knowledge they’ve always imparted.
We hope to devote a future meeting to planning for retirement and to our next potential acts in life. If you have ideas, please share. Two sites which might be of interest to members on this topic include NextAct.org and Encore.org
New or Pending Law for Tonight’s Member Meeting
At tonight’s February 11 Zoom meeting Fern Mehler will discuss the Corporate Transparency Act under which the US Department of Treasury is expanding the necessity for reporting qualifications to FinCEN about entities formed, in their ongoing effort to ascertain the eventual beneficial owner(s). Exactly who is expected to do the reporting and how the reporting will get done is not fleshed out yet. The Corporate Transparency Act was part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 and needs to be adopted by no later than 1/1/2022.
In its current rendition, any entity (corporation, LLC) created by filing a document with a secretary of state or similar office under the laws of that state or Indian Tribe or a foreign entity registered to do business in US, and not otherwise exempt under the Act, will have to report the beneficial owner. The list of exemptions includes companies with major US operations or substantial existing regulatory oversight or entities with more than 20 full time employees and an operating presence at a physical office in the US that filed taxes in the previous fiscal year demonstrating more than $5MM gross receipts or sales.
