The Local and State Government Law Section’s program at the Annual Meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 and this six credit course will offer an exciting and vast array of hot and timely topics of interest for all attorneys. For starters, New York’s 2016 Zombie Property and Foreclosure Prevention Law will be examined by speaker Wade Beltramo, general counsel, New York State Conference of Mayors (NYCOM). 2016 was a momentous year in New York for efforts to deal with distressed and abandoned properties as new zombie property state legislation was enacted that mandates mortgagees to inspect and maintain properties that have been abandoned by the owner. The program will provide an overview of these changes to New York’s Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law, and what impact, if any, this law potentially will have on local attempts to address distressed and abandoned properties that are blighting communities across New York. Sarah Brancatella, associate counsel, Association of Towns of the State of New York, will be delving into the regulation of short-term rentals, such as those offered through services like AirBnB. This segment will review the legal landscape, some common issues that have arisen in local municipalities, and look at what local governments have done to regulate these hybrid residential/commercial entities.
Another topic of wide appeal concerns New York’s proposed regulations on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), popularly known as drones. Is New York ready for this game-changing technology? More than 15 states have so far adopted UAV legislation. Presenters Joseph Hanna and Dennis Glascott, partners at Goldberg Segalla, will discuss the current regulatory atmosphere regarding drone usage, and how other states have attempted to strike the right balance between privacy and beneficial usage. By exploring how those laws compare to the UAV bills currently pending in New York, complete with case studies and specific examples highlighting the implications of drone usage, practical insight will be offered concerning potential local business and municipal liability impacts on such proposed UAV legislation, along with some suggestions on how New York might enhance its proposed policies.
