The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (“COPA”) was passed by the New York City Council on December 18, 2025. The law requires certain building owners to give qualified nonprofit or mission-driven organizations a first opportunity to purchase their properties before…
The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (“COPA”) is a proposed law that would require certain building owners to give qualified nonprofit or mission-driven organizations a first chance to purchase their properties before they may be sold on the open market….
KMWB Partners Nativ Winiarsky, Jim Marino, and Lisa Faham-Selzer had the pleasure of recently joining Bill Weidner on his podcast, Realty Speak. In this episode co-hosted by SPONY’s Joanna Wong, our attorneys explain what’s really happening with the Eviction Moratorium — and the implications for…
Almost a year after the shocking Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act was passed, the legislation is continuing to wreak havoc on the industry and overburden New York’s court system. How did we get here? KMWB attorneys Nativ Winiarsky…
James Marino, a partner at KMWB, secured a dismissal of a Department of Buildings (DOB) violation for a Brooklyn building owner. The submitted application erroneously indicated that the building contained no rent-stabilized units.
On January 25, 2017, James Marino, a partner at Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP, secured dismissal of three (3) violations issued by the Department of Buildings after a hearing conducted at the Environmental Control Board (Violation numbers 35124143J; 35124145N; 35124146P).
On November 2, 2016, James R. Marino served as a member of the presenting panel at a seminar conducted by the Community Housing Improvement Program (“CHIP”). Mr. Marino spoke for 20 minutes on the topic “Illegal Transient Occupancies and Practical Solutions”.
James Marino successfully advanced an argument in an appeal of a Dept. of Buildings AirBnb matter regarding whether aggravated penalties should have been imposed. The owner had been cited for alleged transient occupancy because a tenant had advertised the apartment on AirBnb, and the DOB alleged that a transient tenant had answered that advertisement.
On December 9, 2014, James R. Marino served as a member of the presenting panel at the seminar conducted by the Community Housing Improvement Program (“CHIP”) titled “Primer on New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal: Forms, Filings, and Policy Updates”. Mr. Marino spoke for 40 minutes on various topics, including Preferential Rents and Rent Calculations under different circumstances. Jim took questions from the attendants and received positive feedback from the participants.
In the matter of Georgetown Leasing, LLC: Adm. Rev. Dckt. No. CO-210001-RP, issued July 1, 2014, James R. Marino of Kucker, Marino, Winiarsky, & Bittens, LLP successfully defeated an occupant’s claim of succession by convincing the DHCR to apply logic announced by the Appellate Division, 1st Dept. in Third Avenue Lenox Terrace Associates v. Edwards, 91 AD 3d 352, 937 NUS 2d 41 (1st Dept., 2012). During the DHCR proceeding, it was determined that the tenant of record, who had never advised the Owner that she had vacated, moved out of the subject apartment over 3 years after the owner discovered that she had vacated.