BCLP Land Use Team Makes Key Hire

International law firm BCLP today announced that noted land use lawyer Kurt Steinhouse has joined the firm in the New York office.

Kurt comes to BCLP from the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals, where he served as general counsel. As such, he worked on numerous complex projects involving residential, commercial and community facility development and advised city agencies and the private sector on New York’s reticulated zoning, construction codes and environmental review requirements. He drafted hundreds of resolutions for board adoption, participated in public hearings, developed litigation strategy and oversaw outside counsel defending the city in litigation. Kurt also coordinated with governmental agencies and officials and represented the agency before the New York City Council.

Before joining the Board of Standards and Appeals in 2016, Kurt worked as an assistant general counsel with the New York City Department of Buildings, where he represented the agency in interpretive appeals before the Board of Standards and Appeals, and as a postgraduate fellow in the legal department of New York City Economic Development Corporation.

“Kurt brings to BCLP insight into the workings of several New York City land use agencies, augmenting our team’s already strong government experience and ability to provide practical advice on navigating New York City’s development process,” said Partner Judith Gallent, leader of the firm’s U.S. Planning & Zoning Practice.

Kurt also teaches planning law at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation as an adjunct professor. He is the incoming chair of the New York City Bar Association’s Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee and is an ultramarathoner.

Kurt received his J.D. from Columbia Law School, where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and his B.A., summa cum laude, from The College of William and Mary, where he was a James Monroe Scholar.