John B. Egnatios-Beene

John B. Egnatios-Beene is a member of Stroock’s Real Estate group. His practice focuses on real estate development with an emphasis on land use, zoning and related environmental issues. Chambers says, “John has helped with multiple land use matters and has always been responsive and successful.”

John’s intricate understanding of both the technical requirements of land use regulation in New York and the practical considerations and politics of city government make him uniquely qualified to serve as a business advisor to the firm’s many real estate clients.

Before joining Stroock in 2015, John served as General Counsel to the New York City Board of Standards and Appeals.  In that capacity, he worked on scores of complex projects involving residential, commercial and community facility development throughout the five boroughs.  He advised city agencies and the private sector on the city’s zoning resolution, construction codes, and environmental review requirements, and he drafted hundreds of resolutions for board adoption.  John also participated in public hearings and worked closely with the New York City Law Department to defend the BSA’s decisions.

Prior to BSA, John served for six years as an assistant general counsel with the New York City Department of Buildings, where he represented the agency in interpretive appeals before BSA, served as a technical advisor to executive staff, and regularly appeared as an Acting Assistant Corporation Counsel in Unsafe Buildings proceedings in New York Supreme Court.  

• Acquisitions / Dispositions
• Development and Construction
• Environmental Law
• New York Zoning and Land Use
• Real Estate
• Real Estate Litigation

• City & State, 2021 “Top 50 NYC Lobbyists”
• Ones to Watch, New York Real Estate Journal, 2021
• Best Lawyers in America
• GlobeSt Real Estate Forum’s “50 Under 40”
• Up and Coming, Chambers New York, Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use, 2022

• Member, Zoning and Design Committee, Real Estate Board of New York, 2015-present
• Member, Land Use Zoning & Planning Committee, New York City Bar Association, 2016–present; 2011–2015
• Member, Housing and Urban Development Committee, 2015–2016

• Host, "Affordable Housing in NYC: A Scarce Commodity," Stroock Presents: GOAT Town, December 8 & 13, 2022
• Host, “A New Podcast Examining Zoning and Land Use Regulation in New York City,” Stroock Presents: GOAT Town, December 6, 2022
• Speaker, “Rebuilding NYC: New Developments for Economic Recovery,” City & State New York, February 24, 2022
• Speaker, "NYC Land Use and Zoning — A Look Back and the New Way Forward," Real Estate Podcast, July 1, 2021
• Speaker, "What a Relief! Practicing Before the NYC Board of Standards & Appeals," New York City Bar Association, New York, NY, April 19, 2018

• Co-author, "The Fate of NYC’s Permanent Open Restaurants Program Remains Unknown," Stroock Client Alert, November 1, 2022
• Co-author, "NYC Council Approves Modified SoHo/NoHo Rezoning," Stroock Client Alert, December 15, 2021
• Co-author, "NYC Council Subcommittees Approve SoHo/NoHo Rezoning, With Modifications," Stroock Client Alert, December 9, 2021
• Co-author, "New York Blood Center, Gowanus Rezoning Approved," Stroock Client Alert, November 10, 2021
• Co-author, "UPDATE: Hotel Special Permit and SoHo/NoHo Rezoning are Approved by CPC," Stroock Client Alert, October 20, 2021
• Co-author, “SoHo/NoHo Rezoning Application Certified by the City Planning Commission,” Stroock Client Alert, May 17, 2021
• Co-author, "City-Wide Hotel Special Permit Text Amendment Application Update," Stroock Client Alert, May 3, 2021
• Co-author, "Comprehensive Long-Term Planning or Top-Down Centralized Planning? The Debate Around Intro 2186," Stroock Client Alert, February 24, 2021
• Co-author, “2021 NYC Land Use & Zoning Prioritized Actions – Three Have January Milestone Dates,” Stroock Client Alert, January 7, 2021
• Co-Author, "NYC to Restart ULURP: What You Should Know," Stroock Special Bulletin, July 15, 2020
• Co-author, “Land Use and Planning During the State of Emergency: ULURP Freeze,” Stroock Special Bulletin, March 17, 2020
• Co-Author, "NYC Voters Approve Land Use Ballot Measures," Stroock Special Bulletin, November 6, 2019
• Co-author, “Charter Commission Approves Proposals That Could Reshape NYC Land Use and Zoning,” Stroock Special Bulletin, June 13, 2019
• Co-author, “The Charter Commission 2019 Recommendations That Could Reshape NYC Land Use and Zoning,” Stroock Special Bulletin, April 23, 2019
• Co-author, “The Charter Commission 2019 Proposals That Could Reshape NYC Land Use and Zoning,” Commercial Observer, January 14, 2019
• Co-author, “The Charter Commission 2019 Proposals That Could Reshape NYC Land Use and Zoning,” Stroock Special Bulletin, January 3, 2019
• Co-author, “City Planning Commission Approves East Midtown Subdistrict,” Stroock Special Bulletin, June 15, 2017
• Co-author, “Mandatory Inclusionary Housing: Implications of 421-a and Vested Rights,” Stroock Special Bulletin, March 23, 2016
• Co-author, “Weisbrod Discusses the de Blasio Administration’s Affordable Housing Progra: Now in its ‘Toddler’ Stage,” Stroock Special Bulletin, September 15, 2015

New York

J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law, 2005

B.S., University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, 2002

• Negotiated all the development rights transfer and easement agreements for a joint venture managed by Lendlease and L&M Development Partners for the development of 100 Claremont Avenue into a 354,000-square-foot mixed-use building in the cultural and academic neighborhood of Morningside Heights.
• Negotiated all the development rights transfer and easement agreements for the New York Times Company in connection with its sale of a portion of the NYT College Point Complex to a major warehouse developer.
• Provided zoning and land use counsel for Madison Realty Capital, as lender, on more than 50 development projects in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, with loans totaling more than $1,000,000,000.   
• Successfully representing Queensboro Football Club in land use, environmental and real estate matters in negotiations with CUNY/York College for the construction of New York City’s first soccer-specific stadium. QBFC is the latest entry into the professional soccer league known as the United States Soccer League. 
• Representing Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. in obtaining City Planning Commission approvals and negotiating easement and construction license agreements with the City of New York Health and Hospitals Corporation and Economic Development Corporation to facilitate the development of the latest phase of the Alexandria Center for Life Sciences, which, upon completion will contribute more than 500,000 square feet of laboratory and research space to the Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan.