Eugene L. Wishod joins Egan & Golden as Senior Counsel

The partners of Egan & Golden are pleased to announce that Eugene L. Wishod has joined the firm as Senior Counsel effective January 1. Firm partner Karen Golden stated, "Mr. Wishod is a highly respected and experienced lawyer. His service as an advocate, a judge and a leader of the bar in Suffolk County will be valuable assets to our firm's clients. We look forward to having such a resource contribute to the advice and guidance that we provide to our clients."

Mr. Wishod was graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 1953 and earned his LL.B. degree from Yale University Law School in 1958. Upon graduation, he was appointed a law clerk to the Hon. Charles W. Froessel, Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York State. After serving for two years with Judge Froessel, Mr. Wishod entered private practice on Long Island in 1960. From 1965 to 1976, he was a member of the National Panel of Arbitrators, the American Arbitration Association. He was elected the Village Justice for the Village of Head of the Harbor and served from 1970 to 1980. With a concentration in areas including commercial litigation, business and corporate law, education and municipal law, and zoning and land use, Mr. Wishod is also considered the leading lawyer in Suffolk County for representation of consortiums of developers who, pursuant to agreements with the Suffolk County Sewer Agency, the Suffolk County Department of Public Works and the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, have constructed regional sewer treatment plants and expanded existing plants owned by county sewer districts to facilitate real estate development on Long Island.

Mr. Wishod has repeatedly served in leadership positions for the Bar, including a term as president of both the Suffolk County Bar Association and the New York State Association of School Attorneys, Inc. Mr. Wishod is a Fellow of the New York Bar Foundation and the American Bar Foundation, and served as a member of the Grievance Committee for the Tenth Judicial District from 1984 to 1988. He was a member of the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Professional Ethics for 22 years and served for many years as Vice-Chairman of the Committee.

Mr. Wishod is admitted to practice in the U.S. Supreme Court, the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, the U.S. District Court in the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, and all New York State courts. He is a member of the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, the Suffolk County Bar Association, the Nassau County Bar Association, and the Federal Bar Council.

Egan & Golden office used for film location

The newly renovated Patchogue office of Egan & Golden was recently used as a film location. The lobby, conference rooms and common areas feature prominently in the short film, "The Mailbox". The film is a production of New York based New Dreams Media. In early 2009, the firm relocated to the extensively renovated historic former New York Telephone Building in downtown Patchogue. The film is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2010 for review at several international film festivals.

The plot involves a young waitress who is bombarded with bills, late notices, IRS letters and eventually an eviction notice, and in a moment of misdirected anger takes out her aggressions on the post-mounted mailbox. She sorrowfully puts the mailbox back together, which ultimately leads to the delivery of a notice from her grandmother's estate attorney and news which may change her life.

Egan & Golden Represents Village of Patchogue in Artspace Project

As reported in the Long Island Business News, work will soon begin on the Artspace Patchogue Lofts in the Village of Patchogue. Artspace is an affordable housing project that will provide 45 loft-style live/work apartments for artists in a new five story, 103,000 square foot building. Egan & Golden attorney Justine Tocci served as lead counsel to the Village of Patchogue on the transaction, which involved the negotiation and closing of 30 year PILOT agreements, multiple real estate transfers to assemble the parcels, and over $15 million in private and municipal financing. Before joining Egan & Golden, Ms. Tocci was with the Office of the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, Special Litigation Unit. Egan & Golden, LLP has extensive experience representing municipalities and public officials throughout Long Island.

Egan & Golden appointed District Counsel for Fishers Island Ferry District

Egan & Golden, LLP was recently appointed District Counsel for the Fishers Island Ferry District. The FIFD's Board of Commissioners appointed the firm at its annual meeting held in August. The firm will advise the Ferry District on compliance with New York municipal law, public employment and management of public properties under their jurisdiction. Fishers Island is located at the eastern end of Long Island Sound 2 miles (3 km) off the southeastern coast of Connecticut across Fishers Island Sound. It is approximately 11 miles (18 km) from the tip of Long Island and approximately 7 miles (12 km) southeast of New London, Connecticut, from which it is accessible by plane or the regular ferry service operated by FIFD. Egan & Golden, LLP has wide experience in representing a variety of local governments and individual officials throughout Suffolk County.

Egan discusses Expansion of Village Boundaries

Egan & Golden, LLP partner, Brian T. Egan, Esq. was invited to address an enthusiastic crowd about the process and procedure for expanding Village boundaries under state law. Egan was invited by the civic organization, Focus East Patchogue, who have been advocating for the expansion of the Village of Patchogue's boundaries to include the western portions of East Patchogue. Egan serves as the Village Attorney for Patchogue. "I believe that there are good and valuable reasons for the annexation" stated Egan. "A Village can more sharply focus their code enforcement and economic development tools to more rapidly and responsively carry out the priorities of their citizens."

Egan & Golden Patchogue Office Relocates

On March 13, 2009, the Patchogue Office of Egan & Golden, LLP relocated to 96 South Ocean Avenue, Patchogue. The office is located in a historic brick building in downtown Patchogue, that once served as the headquarters for the New York Telephone Company. The renovation included certain environmentally "green" features, including the use of antique architectural salvage items.

The Firm's East Hampton Office remains at 393 Montauk Highway in Wainscott, NY.

Firm wins Zoning Victory in Appellate Division

Egan & Golden partners Brian T. Egan and Karen Golden achieved a significant zoning victory in the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Second Department. The Firm was hired to serve as Special Counsel to the Village Attorney for the Village of Poquott, NY to defend the Village's Zoning Board of Appeals in a challenge to a denial of a sideyard variance. The homeowners had sought to build a recreational dock that would extend into the waters of Port Jefferson Harbor from their waterfront property. Their application for a dock permit was denied by the Planning Board because the plans did not meet the minimum side yard setback requirements of the local zoning ordinance. The petitioners then sought to obtain area variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals which, after two public hearings, denied the application. The firm successfully defended the Village in the Supreme Court, and also defeated the challenge in the Appellate Division. The Firm succeeded in defending the denial based in large part on the broad discretion vested in Zoning Boards in considering applications for variances. A copy of the decision is here.