Eugene C. Travers
Gene advocates on behalf of clients before New York City’s land use agencies, including the City Planning Commission, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, the Board of Standards and Appeals, and the Department of Buildings, as well as before community boards, borough presidents, and the City Council. He secures rezonings, zoning text amendments, special permits, variances, large-scale development approvals, waterfront zoning approvals, and vested rights. Gene also advises clients on site acquisition, assembly, and development feasibility. He particularly enjoys collaborating as co-counsel with leading transactional real estate attorneys and law firms that do not have their own zoning practices, many of whom frequently rely on Gene for his knowledge and experience.
Gene was profiled by Crain’s New York as a Rising Star in Real Estate (2019), and has been recognized by Thomson Reuter’s New York Super Lawyers (2015-2024). The Center for New York City Law awarded Gene the CityLand Fellowship in 2010.
Experience & capabilities
Selected matters
Represents Extell Development Company in numerous multi-parcel zoning lot mergers and transfers of development rights throughout New York City.
Represents DH Property Holdings in connection with land use due diligence for the financing and development of industrial sites, including the multi-story, 1.3 million-square-foot Sunset Industrial Park distribution hub.
Represented Brookfield Properties in land use diligence and waterfront zoning approvals for its Bankside project, a 4.3-acre mixed-use development along the Harlem River Waterfront in South Bronx’s Mott Haven neighborhood.
Represented The Gotham Organization in obtaining a rezoning, large-scale special permit, and other approvals for a development containing market rate, senior, and affordable housing and the headquarters for the Chinese-American Planning Council on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
Represented HELP USA in obtaining a rezoning and a large-scale special permit for the development of a four-building mixed-use complex including more than 500 permanently affordable apartments and supportive housing in East New York, Brooklyn.
Represented Riu Hotels & Resorts in connection with the construction of a new 49-story hotel in the Times Square Theater District, using bonus development rights generated pursuant to a special permit for the rehabilitation of the historic Cort Theatre on a multi-party assemblage created through a zoning lot merger.
Represented Gamma Real Estate in its development of a 64-story, 800+ feet tall residential skyscraper in Sutton Place, Manhattan, and securing a vested right from the Board of Standards of Appeals to allow the project to continue despite a zoning change by opponents of the project.
Services
Background
Education
- J.D., New York Law School, 2010
- Dean's List (High Honors)
- B.A., Fairfield University, 2007
Bar Admissions
Professional Affiliations
- New York City Bar Association, Land Use, Planning and Zoning Committee
Recognition
Thomson Reuters' New York Metro Super Lawyers, Rising Star*
Crain’s New York Rising Stars in Real Estate
Marvin Frankel Pro Bono Award
New York State Bar Association’s Empire State Counsel Honor
* No aspect of this advertisement has been approved by the Supreme Court of New Jersey. A description of the Super Lawyers selection methodology can be found here.
