heading awards

We are growing our business to better serve yours and are pleased to welcome two additional team members.

Danielle M. Burshteyn
Associate
[email protected]

Danielle M. Burshteyn, Esq. joins Goldstein Hall PLLC as Associate. She will be focused on real estate and transactional deals including residential and commercial purchases and sales, banking and finance and corporate governance. Danielle will assist a range of clients from non-profit, residential, and commercial lenders to individual buyers, sellers and investors of New York properties. Prior to joining Goldstein Hall, Danielle practiced law for several years as a transactional real estate attorney, lender’s counsel, and settlement manager. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University at Albany with a major Psychology and a minor Criminal Justice and holds a law degree from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School. Her vast legal experience in real estate, coupled with her knowledge as a private real estate investor, makes her a great asset to our firm.


Helena Sowah
Strategic Planning Advisor
[email protected]

Helena Sowah joins Goldstein Hall PLLC as our Strategic Planning Advisor. In her position, she will be responsible for the marketing and operations efforts of the firm, as well as the content cultivation of Goldstein Hall’s official social media channels. Prior to joining Goldstein Hall, Helena worked as a finance associate on a presidential campaign where along with a small team she helped to raise ten million dollars in the tri-state region during her first quarter – surpassing fundraising goals. Helena began her career as a political consultant, assisting with the re-election of Brooklyn’s first African-American district attorney. Helena holds a bachelor’s degree from Union College, where she majored in Political Science and minored in French. We are excited about Helena’s contributions to expand our brand and reach.

 

heading recent seminars

RECENT PROGRAMS
Building Brooklyn
ANHD 2017 Conference Panel:
New Opportunities for Mission-Driven Developers:

On
April 26, 2017, GH Managing Partner David Goldstein participated on a panel addressing over 100 attendees about the current challenging development climate. The panel focused on new approaches to affordable housing development through unique financing, partnerships, and community engagement. Additional panelists included: Chris Cirillo, LOTT CDC, Sam Marks, LISC NYC, Elizabeth Zeldin, Enterprise Community Partners, Paula Segal, Urban Justice Center and Peter Madden, JOE NYC.

Building Brooklyn
Emerging Developer Program:
Increasing Minority and Women Participation in Affordable Housing:

On
April 21, 2017,GH Associate Spencer Hoffman moderated a special program co-sponsored by the New York State Association of Minority Contractors (NYSAMC) which provided information to the 55 attendees on how to become a M/WMBE certified developer or contractor, along with information for participants on how to maximize resources and opportunities, breaking into the affordable housing network, policy recommendations to promote M/WBE participation in development and more. Panelists included Manuel Burgos, Onwer, BTN Consulting, Hon. Adolfo Carrion, Founder & CEO, Metro Futures LLC, Baaba Halm, Assistant Commisioner, NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and Randall Toure, CDO, BED New Communities, HDFC.

Building Brooklyn
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer Presents:
Development in Partnership with Faith-Based Institutions:

On
April 19, 2017, GH Senior Associate Jason Labate (Panel Moderator) and GH Associate Gabriel Gerbi (Panelist) both participated in a half day program sposnsored by Goldstein Hall, and co-sponsored with ANHD and the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, on Faith-Based Community Development. The program invited members from churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, and other faith-based organizations that were interested in development and planning strategies for community engagement, alternative development models, and policy considerations on structural preservation as well as affordable housing development and preservation.

Building Brooklyn
The Hudson Valley Affordable Housing Summit:
On
April 18, 2017, GH Senior Associate Jason Labate ran a special half day summit held attended by over 140 individuals at the NY State Judicial Institute’s Pace Law School comprised of a Keynote Address by NYS Homes and Community Renewal’s Executive Deputy Commissioner and COO Betsy Mallow, followed by a panel entitled “Deal Design in Uncertainty” with (Moderator) Rosemarie Noonan, Executive Director of Housing Action Counciland panelists: Ken Kearney, President & Founder, Kearney Realty & Development Group, Sadie McKeown, COO & EVP, Community Preservation Corporation, Gary Rodeny, Chairman, CREA, LLC, and Kevin Plunkett, Deputy County Executive, Westchesteer County. The second panel was entitled “Novel Strategies for Increasing Affordable Housing” with (Moderator) John R. Nolon, Founder & Council, Land Use Law Center, and panelists: Peter Madden, Executive Director, The Joint Ownership Entity (JOE) NYC, Madeline Fletcher, Executive Diretor, Newburgh Community Land Bank, Rich Nightingale, President & CEO, Westhab. Additional Sponsors for the summit included Federated Title Services, Community Preservation Corporation, All New York Title Agency, Benchmark Title Agency, CREA and collaborative partner NYS Association for Affordable Housing.

Building Brooklyn
The Brownfields Program:
How to Develop Brownfield Sites for Affordable Housing:

On
April 7, 2017, GH Partner Brian Hsu moderated a panel co-sponsored for 60 attendees with the NYC Office of Environmental Remediation and the NYS Bar Association on the Brownfields Program – outlining approaches, timelines, a case study and the framework for developing brownfield sites. Panelists included Kimmel Cameron, Hudson Housing Capital, Matthew Carroll, P.E., Tenen Environmental, Mark McIntyre, Esq., NYC Mayor’s Office of Environmental Remediation, Peter Procida, Procide Companies, Larry Schnapf, Esq., Schnapf and GH Managing Partner David Goldstein.

Episcopal Diocese of New York panel:
Power – Making the Transition to Renewable Energy:

On
April 1, 2017, GH Associate Spencer Hoffman participated on a panel sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of New York. The workshop focused on accessing financing and navigating structural challenges in order to unlock opportunities for churches in the diocese to transition to renewable energy.

Building Brooklyn
Negotiating Project Deal Points:
On
March 31, 2017, GH Senior Associate and Women in Housing and Finance (WHF) Board Member Niki Tsismenakis presented at a special brown bag luncheon seminar for WHF members at Goldstein Hall’s offices. This program, which Niki developed, focused on providing guidance for achieving the best deal for developers with their joint venture or project syndicator partners.

Building Brooklyn
Joint Ventures that Work for Supportive Housing:

On
March 22, 2017, GH Managing Partner David Goldstein, presented on a panel for 30 attendees that he co-developed with Jennifer Trepinski (Moderator), Senior Loan Officer at Corporation for Supportive Housing (CSH) on Joint Ventures in Supportive Housing. The speakers provided an overview of the available funding sources, real time examples and an overview of the pros and cons of various partnership structures. Panelists included Steve Coe, Community Access, Mike McCarthy, Alembic Community Development and Blanca Ramirez, Hudson Housing Capital.
Building Brooklyn
Enhancing Hispanic Participants in Affordable Housing:
On
March 8, 2017, GH co-sponsored a special Hispanic focused reception at Havana Café in the Bronx with the NY Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Hispanics in Real Estate & Construction (HREC) for 60 attendees to encourage Hispanic developers and entrepreneurs in affordable housing. Speakers included Peter Fontanes, Chair Emeritus, HREC, Radame Perez, COO, Mastermind, Ltd., Arturo Suarez, Housing Director, LISC and Norberto Velazquez, COO, JGV Management Corp.

Building Brooklyn
Signing a Commercial Lease: What You Should Know:
On
February 27, 2017, GH Senior Associate Juan Restrepo, in partnership with the Brooklyn Small Business Development Center, Brooklyn Law School and the Center for urban Business Entrepreneurship (CUBE) conducted a workshop about negotiating fair commercial leases, selecting sites, lease agreements and more for the attendees who attended at the Brooklyn Law School’s Subotnick Center.

loeser eminar
HDFCs: 101:
On
February 21, 2017, GH Litigation Associates, Max Rayetsky (Moderator), Daniel Goldenberg (Panelist) and Juan Restrepo (Panelist) conducted a panel discussion for over 25 attendees in partnership with the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB) on Housing Development Fund Corporations – HDFCs:101. Additional panelists included UHAB’s Assistant Director of Member Services, Marie Calvert-Kilbane and Shaun Covington, President of Covington Realty Services, Inc. The group discussed issues facing HDFC financing, cost-saving energy opportunities, and more for HDFC shareholders and board members.

heading community syupport
tlk entrance UFAA Career Panel for Current Fellows:
On
February 16, 2017, Senior Associate Jason Labate spoke at the GH hosted New York City Urban Fellows Alumni Association’s Career Panel for the 2017 class of Urban Fellows. Additional speakers included Emily Genser, Marlee Ickowicz, Victoria Cantrella and Isabella Wechsler. The event was a great success and provided a valuable opportunity for future public leaders to learn from their more experienced peers about how to transition into new roles after their fellowship ends this May.

St. John’s Law-Sponsored Diversity and Inclusion Gala:
On April 4, 2017, GH’s Senior Associate Juan Restrepo and Associate Max Reyetsky attended the St. John’s Law Diversity and Inclusion Gala. The event celebrated the achievements of St. John’s Law Alumni of diverse backgrounds in the private and government sectors and was in attendance by high profile members of the New York State judiciary (Hon. Randall T. Eng (Chief Justice, NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department) and Hon. Reinaldo E. Rivera (Associate Justice, NYS Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department)) and other prominent members of the legal industry (Elisa D. Garcia (Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer for Office Depot, Inc.), Roberto Lebron (Assistant Attorney General of the Harlem Regional Office), Jose Perez (Deputy General Counsel of Latino Justice PRLDEF).