Practice areas: Real Estate
Licensed in New York since: 1975
Education: Brooklyn Law School
Selected to Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2025 Rosenberg & Estis, P.C.
11 Grand Central EastNew York, NY 10017 Phone: 212-551-8410 Email: Gary M. Rosenberg Visit website
Gary M. Rosenberg is the Founding Member and former Managing Member of the firm. He is presently the Chairman of the firm. Rosenberg founded the firm in 1975 upon his admittance to the bar. The firm has been primarily involved in New York Real Estate for its entire existence. During his first 15 years, Rosenberg was an active litigator and appellate attorney involved in many significant precedent setting real estate cases in the New York State Court of Appeals, having successfully voided a New York City law, Mayer v. City Rent Agency, 1978; having a New York State law declared unconstitutional, Manocherian v. State of New York, 1994; successfully sued the State for damages resulting from a regulatory constitutional taking recovering over $5,000,000 in damages, 520 E. 81st Street Associates v. State of New York, 2002.
Since 1990, Rosenberg has been involved in a number of the largest and most complex developments in New York. From 1992 through 1998, Rosenberg worked on the development of the Conde Nast Building at 4 Times Square. Rosenberg led the acquisition of the site and the $420m construction loan, while working on the Conde Nast Lease (800,000 sq ft) and the Skadden Arps Lease (770,000 sq ft). In addition, he was intimately involved in the development of the project and led the permanent financing of $620m. From 2002 to 2008, Rosenberg led the site assemblage and acquisition for the Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park. He negotiated the Joint Venture between Bank of America and the Durst Organization, assisted in the lease negotiations with Bank of America (1,500,000 sq ft), led the construction financing team ($650m of liberty bonds and $250m of taxable financing) and led the permanent loan of $1.3 billion (consisting of $650m of liberty bonds and $650m of taxable loans). In 2011, Rosenberg led the negotiations of the Joint Venture, on behalf of the Durst Organization with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, including the negotiation of the lease of the Broadcast Facility at 1 World Trade Center. Rosenberg is presently active in the financing and development of over $1.1 billion of new construction.
First Admitted: 1975, New York
Professional Webpage: http://www.rosenbergestis.com/Attorney-Profiles/Gary-M-Rosen...
Bar / Professional Activity
- American Bar Association, Member
- New York State Bar Association, Member
- New York City Bar Association, Member, Housing and Urban Development Committee, 1981 - 1984
- New York County Lawyers Association, Member, Supreme Court Committee, 1993 - 1996
- New York County Lawyers Association, Member, Supreme Court Committee, 1993 - 1996
- New York, 1975
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, 1976
- U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1985, 1985
- U.S. Supreme Court, 1985
Transactions
- Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. recently facilitated a $100 million redevelopment loan, with JPMorgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo Securities as co-lead arrangers and joint bookrunners, for The Durst Organization’s repositioning of 825 Third Avenue. The three-year loan will help fund Durst’s recent $150 million overhaul, which added amenities and enhanced every facet of the 40-story office tower, from its lobby to elevators, mechanical systems and windows. Gary M. Rosenberg, Eric S. Orenstein, Dennis I. Hellman and Arielle Frost, Members in the Transactional Department of Rosenberg & Estis, and Casey E. Delaney, an Associate in the department, represented Durst in the transaction. Located on the eastern blockfront of Third Avenue, between East 50th and 51st streets, 825 Third Avenue is a Midtown East flagship for Durst, which originally constructed the Emery Roth & Sons-designed office tower in 1969. Random House initially leased the 544,000-square-foot building, which later became known as the headquarters of Advance Publications, parent of Condé Nast. Durst began gut renovating the tower, after the publisher and the building’s subtenants vacated following the expiration of a 25-year ground lease. Among other improvements, Durst modernized the building’s facade and the ground-floor storefronts and added smart windows that tint automatically based on sunlight. Other upgrades include special windows on which presentations can be projected, and white onyx walls and terrazzo marble floors to adorn a new lobby. The building’s new tenants also will enjoy a 3,000-square-foot ground-floor lounge with coffee, wine and arcade games, the addition of 15,000 square feet of amenities such as a fitness center on the second floor, and a new 12th-floor terrace. Plus, Durst added more efficient heating cooling systems and installed sensors to collect real-time air quality data on carbon dioxide, humidity and other factors. “Rosenberg & Estis is pleased to have facilitated financing for the repositioning of this premier office tower,” Gary M. Rosenberg said. “It is an ideal home for commercial tenants seeking best-in-class amenities in close proximity to abundant mass transit.”, 2022
- Rosenberg & Estis, P.C. served as legal counsel to The Durst Organization in a complex $1.5 billion debt refinancing that involved multiple office towers in New York City, including 1133 Avenue of the Americas and 114 West 47th Street. Rosenberg & Estis founder Gary M. Rosenberg; members Dennis I. Hellman, Eric S. Orenstein and David B. Horn; and associates Casey E. Delaney and Zachary M. Rockoff, represented Durst in the transaction. “This transaction provided a unique opportunity for institutions to invest in Manhattan’s leading office properties and leading property ownership group,” said Rosenberg. “The fully leased properties are ideally located in Midtown Manhattan and provide the highest-quality office space in the city.” The three originating CMBS lenders, Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo, made a 10-year, fixed-rate securitized loan for $1.1 billion covering the 1.1-million-square-foot 1133 Avenue of the Americas (“1133”), and the 600,000-square-foot 114 West 47th Street, (“114”). The new securitized loan refinanced a loan held by TIAA with a principal balance of approximately $200 million covering 1133 Avenue of the Americas. Simultaneously with the closing of the new CMBS loan, a Citibank-led Facility, previously provided to The Durst Organization LP, (“DOLP”), in the amount of $1 billion, was re-financed at $400 million, consisting of a $300 million mortgage loan covering three Durst-owned office buildings on the East Side of Manhattan and a $100 million revolving loan covering interests in two other Durst properties; the two Durst buildings now mortgaged under the CMBS financing, (1133 and 114), and another Durst building at 825 Third Avenue, currently under substantial renovation subsequent to the termination in 2019 of a 25-year net lease, were all released from the prior Citi / DOLP Facility., 2021
- Mayer v. City Rent Agency, 46 N.Y.2d 139, 412 N.Y.S.2d 867 (1978)
- Manocherian v. State of New York, 84 N.Y.2d 385, 618 N.Y.S.2d 857 (1994)
- 520 E. 81st Street Associates v. State of New York, 99 N.Y.2d 43, 750 N.Y.S.2d 833 (2002)
Educational Background
- Queens College - BA, 1971
Scholarly Lectures / Writings
- The New York real estate industry has seen more legislative reform within the past five years than ever before. With all the recent protection provided to tenants, the question is now raised—can a landlord require a tenant to pay rent and/or use and occupancy during the pendency of a case? The answer is simply, “Yes.”, Co-Author, Do Tenants Have To Pay if They Want To Stay?, New York Law Journal, 2025
- Having your litigator involved from the outset could reduce the risk of litigation over conflicting or ambiguous language because the litigator will be looking at the lease language written by the transactional attorney with a viewpoint of avoiding future litigation., Co-Author, Why Should I Call My Litigator To Draft a Lease?, New York Law Journal, 2025
- Since implementation of the Good Cause Eviction Law in New York, courts have begun to interpret the law. In their article, Gary Rosenberg and Deborah Riegel review the evolving body of law and explain how it impacts owners’ compliance with it., Co-Author, Good Cause Eviction Law: One Year Later, How Judges Have Applied the Law, New York Law Journal, 2025
- In their Landlord-Tenant column, Gary M. Rosenberg and Ethan R. Cohen update the state of the law regarding the viability of constitutional takings claims against the government resulting from the COVID-19 eviction moratoriums., Co-Author, Liability on Lockdown: Can Landlords Bring Takings Claims Over COVID Eviction Moratoriums?, New York Law Journal, 2025
- On April 20, 2024 the Good Cause Eviction Law (GCE) was signed into law. Basically, it limits unreasonable rent increases for units that are not already subject to rent regulation, ensures that existing tenants of unregulated apartments are offered renewal leases, and curbs the eviction of free-market tenants except if the owner has "good cause." This article will explore the origins of GCE and explain its key components., Co-Author, Understanding Good Cause Eviction: The Basics, New York Law Journal, 2024
- An update on the status of Assembly Bill A-6216-B and Senate Bill S-2980-C and the significant changes to the original text of Part B of the bill that are expected to be passed by the Legislature soon using "chapter amendments., Co-Author, Retroactively Redefining ‘Fraud’: The Chapter Amendments, New York Law Journal, 2024
- Gary Rosenberg and Ethan Cohen explore the part of bill S-2980-C in which the Legislature retroactively defined when a tenant is considered to have "permanently vacated" a rent-stabilized apartment for purposes of determining succession rights for family members, which was previously undefined by the Legislature., Co-Author, Retroactively Reshaping the Analysis of Succession, New York Law Journal, 2024
- To appeal or not to appeal, that is a question faced eventually by every litigator. But questions relating to the facts of a case or the applicable law aside (for the moment), what do the statistics demonstrate for the appellate practitioner?, Co-Author, To Appeal or Not To Appeal: That Is the Question, New York Law Journal, 2024
- New York housing agencies have long taken the position that blanket denial of applicants with criminal convictions has a disparate impact on persons of color. Here, Gary Rosenberg and Cori Rosen discuss the ‘Fair Chance for Housing Act’ effective Jan. 1, 2025, which addresses this issue - specifically criminal background checks., Co-Author, Are NYC Housing Providers Ready for the Fair Chance Act?, New York Law Journal, 2024
- "A Complete Guide to Subletting and Assignments," CHIP New York, 1982
- "Rent Stabilization Association Digest," RSA, New York, 1983
Honors
- On March 6, 2025 - Founding Member and Chairman of R&E, Gary M. Rosenberg, was named “Real Estate Professional of the Year” by The Torch Foundation at their Annual Monte Carlo Night., Real Estate Professional of the Year, Torch Foundation, 2025
- AV Rated by Martindale Hubbell
- Selected for inclusion in New York Super Lawyers, 2006 - 2013
Office location for Gary M. Rosenberg
11 Grand Central East
New York, NY 10017
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2006 - 2025