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September 29, 2009
NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION WORKSHOP OFFERS
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES FOR MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS
Association’s Environmental Law
& Municipal Law Sections Team Up to Present Climate Change Action
Planning Workshop
ALBANY—The New York State Bar Association will host a full-day
workshop on Thursday, October 8, 2009 at Pace Law School in White
Plains, titled “Climate Change Action Planning—A Workshop
for Municipal Officials,” designed to help government officials
across the state develop climate change action plans that can
significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in their local
communities. Sponsored by the Association’s Environmental
Law Section Committee on Global Climate Change and the Municipal Law
Section Committees on Land Use and Environment, and Green Development,
the workshop will provide an in-depth look at laws, regulations and
codes that govern green initiatives and will review recent success
stories from municipalities across the State.
“Government officials and lawyers have a long history of
working hand-in-hand to develop comprehensive laws and regulations that
protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and our natural
resources,” said Bar Association President Michael E. Getnick
(Getnick Livingston Atkinson & Priore, LLP of Utica and of counsel
to Getnick & Getnick of New York City). “We’re proud to
offer this workshop to help municipal officials better protect the
environment and improve the quality of life for their
constituents.”
The workshop schedule is as follows:
8:45 a.m. Opening Remarks
J. Kevin Healy, Esq., New York State Bar Association
Environmental Law Section, Co-Chair, Global Climate Change Committee,
Bryan Cave LLP
9:00 a.m. Keynote
Address: Why take action?
John R. Nolon,
Esq., James A. Hopkins Professor of Law, Pace Law School
Counsel, Land Use Center
9:20 a.m. New York State’s
Climate Smart Communities Pledge and Program
Lois A. New, Acting Deputy Director, Office of
Climate Change, New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation
9:50 a.m. Local Successes in
Action Planning - Three Case Studies
• Town of New Castle
• City of New Rochelle—ICLEI-Local Government for
Sustainability
Pilot Project Community
• Westchester County’s Action Plan and Global Warming
Task Force
Moderator: Virginia C. Robbins, Esq., New
York State Bar Association Environmental Law Section, Co-Chair, Global
Climate Change Committee, Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
Panelists: Noam
Bramson, Mayor, City of New Rochelle; Robert
Funicello, Environmental Project Director, Westchester County
Department of Transportation; Barbara Gerrard,
Supervisor, Town of New Castle; Robin Schlaff, Esq.,
Special Counsel for Regional Affairs, New York State Department of
Environmental Conservation
11:00 a.m. Green Building
Requirements
• Overview of the State Energy Code and Beyond: Lessons
Learned from the Approach of Greenburgh, New Rochelle and Babylon
• The Pitfalls: Avoiding Potential Legal Liability in
Adopting and Enforcing Green
Building Laws
Moderator: Julie E. Steiner,
Esq., Professor, St. John’s University School of Law.
Panelists: Jessica A. Bacher,
Esq., Adjunct Professor and Senior Managing Attorney, Land Use
Law Center, Pace Law School; Cosimina Panetti, Senior
Outreach Manager, Building Codes Assistance Project Alliance to Save
Energy; Lester D. Steinman, Esq., Director, Edwin G.
Michaelian, Municipal Law Resource Center, Pace University
1:00 p.m. Transit Oriented
Development and Transportation Efficient Development
Moderator: J. Kevin Healy, Esq.
Panelists: Thomas
Madden, Commissioner, Department of Community Development and
Conservation, Town of Greenburgh; Munsun Park, Project
Manager of Planning, Jonathan Rose Companies
1:40 p.m. Renewable Energy:
Facilitating Solar and Combined Heat and Power
Generation
Moderator: Janice A. Dean,
Esq., Environmental Protection Bureau, Office of the New York
State Attorney General
Panelists: James
Gallagher, Senior Vice President Energy and Telecommunications,
New York City Economic Development Corporation; Patricia E.
Salkin, Esq., Raymond & Ella Smith Distinguished Professor
of Law, Associate Dean, Director, Government Law Center, Albany Law
School; Gordon M. Boyd, President, EnergyNext, Inc.
2:20 p.m. Funding Opportunities and Technical
Assistance
Moderator: Joan Leary
Matthews, Esq., New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, Associate Commissioner, Hearings & Mediation
Services
Panelists: Mark
Eggers, Program Director, Energy Efficiency Services, New York
State Energy Research and Development Authority; Maribel
Cruz-Brown, C.E.M., Energy Services & Technology, Business
Development and Engineering Facilitator, New York Power Authority
Program co-sponsors include: Association of Towns of the State of New
York; Edwin G. Michaelian Municipal Law Resource Center, Pace
University; Energy and Climate Change Center, Pace Law School;
Government Law Center, Albany Law School; Land Use Law Center, Pace Law
School; New York State Association of Counties; New York State
Conference of Mayors; Rockland Municipal Planning Federation;
Westchester Municipal Officials Association; Westchester Municipal
Planning Federation.
For more information or to register, visit www.nysba.org/ClimateChangeMeeting.
The 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the official
statewide organization of lawyers in New York and the largest voluntary
state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs
and activities have continuously served the public and improved the
justice system for more than 130 years.
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