Paul Proulx

Paul J. Proulx joined the firm’s New York Office Business Law Department in April 2009. Prior to joining the firm, he was an associate with WolfBlock LLP in New York. A member in the Real Estate Practice Group, Paul has extensive experience in land use, zoning, and development matters, as well as in general real estate transactions. Prior to entering private practice, he served as land use and economic development counsel to the supervisor of Babylon, N.Y., and as associate counsel to a real estate development company and hotelier. Since 2006, Paul has represented clients before New York City agencies, such as the Board of Standards and Appeals, City Planning Commission, Economic Development Corporation, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and Landmarks Preservation Commission, as well as the Office of the Mayor and New York City Council. His representative transactions and matters include: • Prosecuted Board of Standards and Appeals variance applications that enabled the conversion and enlargement of three manufacturing buildings in Brooklyn's Fulton Ferry Historic District and the conversion of a 70,000-square foot warehouse to residential use. • Secured Landmarks Preservation Commission approval for the demolition of a non-contributing, low-rise structure and replacement with a 19-story, glass, contemporary landmark building in Manhattan's Madison Square North Historic District. • Drafted Uniform Land Use Review application, transactional documents and other supporting material to facilitate the transfer of air rights from city-owned parcel to development site in downtown Brooklyn. • Prepared chair certification and special permit applications to the City Planning Commission for approval of the landscape plan and special permit waiver of the maximum height limit for a development on a full square block along the Greenpoint waterfront. • Guided development team through special permitting process for the demolition and replacement of landmarked parking garage with state-of-the-art facility. • Worked with code consultant and architect to secure agency approvals from the Department of Buildings and Fire Department for a three-acre site with private roads on the Staten Island waterfront. Prepared chair certification and authorization applications to the City Planning Commission for approval of the landscape plan. Coordinated zoning compliance for project team and facilitated transfer of property from the City of New York to developer client. • Managed development team submissions and drafted narrative and findings for general large-scale development, special permit and rezoning applications to the City Planning Commission for a 17-story rental building in the DUMBO section of Brooklyn. Paul earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School, his urban planning master's degree from the Pratt Institute, and his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Detroit Mercy. Paul is actively engaged in civic groups, including the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the Gotham Planning Society, the Downtown Lower Manhattan Association, and the New York City Bar Association's Committee on Land Use, Planning, and Zoning.