New York City Councilman David G. Greenfield is joining the faculty of Brooklyn Law School as an adjunct professor teaching New York City Zoning and Land Use. Professor Greenfield’s course at the prestigious law school will take place on Wednesday evenings starting in January 2016. The course is open to 2nd year and above Brooklyn Law students and graduate students at Pratt Institute.

“I’m thrilled to be joining one of the finest law schools in in the country,” said Greenfield about his part-time appointment. “Brooklyn Law School has a reputation not just for scholarly excellence but also for teaching their students how to practice law in the real world. That’s exactly what we will be studying in my course. Our focus will not just be on the legal basis of zoning and land use but also on how to navigate the complex land use and zoning process in New York City,” Greenfield told YWN.

Greenfield, a respected attorney and graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC is recognized as one of the foremost experts in land use law and zoning policy in New York. Aside for his role in the New York City Council as a member of the Speaker’s leadership team and a member of the budget negotiating team, Councilman Greenfield has spent the last two years as the Chair of the powerful Zoning and Land Use Committee. In that role he oversaw the zoning of several major projects including Domino sugar in Brooklyn, Astoria Cove in Queens and One Vanderbilt in Manhattan. In 2014 Greenfield’s clout was recognized when he was added to the annual list of 100 most powerful New Yorkers.

Just this week Greenfield‘s influence was on display as he joined Mayor Bill de Blasio to announce a change in the zoning to Industrial Business Zones in New York City – areas that have been carved out by New York City as having special restricted status to accommodate and grow industrial businesses. Greenfield led the effort in the City Council to protect these businesses. Last year, Greenfield’s Land Use Committee released the “Engines of Opportunity” report highlighting the important role that industrial and manufacturing businesses play in New York’s economy. That report provided recommendations for zoning changes and tools to protect and grow these vital industries. Greenfield followed up on the report with a full day of hearings that he chaired in May of 2015 and several subsequent meetings with the Mayor’s top economic development team to produce the protections announced with the Mayor on Tuesday morning in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

(YWN Desk – NYC)