Attorney Albert J. Pirro Jr., is well-known for his successes in helping bring to fruition Westchester development projects such as The Westchester shopping mall, the office complex The Summit located in Valhalla, and recently a cancer infusion center at 1 West Red Oak Plaza in Harrison that will be operated by Mt. Sinai Hospital. At one time, Donald Trump was a client.
“My work with former President Trump was primarily land use and government affairs assignments,” Pirro told the Business Journals. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with President Trump. Our relationship has always been cordial, and it remains that way to this day.”
Pirro, who in the past was prominent as a member of the law group Pirro, Collier, Cohen, Halpern & Bock, LLP and later the firm Pirro Group LLC, has now become a partner at the law firm Abrams and Fensterman. Pirro is working out of the firm”™s White Plains office where his practice areas include: commercial and corporate litigation; government litigation, law and policy; and land use and zoning. In addition to White Plains, Abrams and Fensterman has offices in Brooklyn, Lake Success, Rochester and Albany.
Pirro is a Westchester native who was born in Mount Vernon in 1947. He is no stranger to the public spotlight, whether going before a municipal council or planning board to explain a proposed development or as a result of frequent news stories about himself and Jeanine Pirro, who from 1994 through 2005 was Westchester County District Attorney and now is a Fox News personality.
Pirro spent 11 months in federal prison as a result of a tax case and when asked about it by the Business Journals, replied, “I made a mistake, and I paid for it. I am fortunate to have many friends who know my character and my abilities. I have learned from my mistake and apply those lessons daily to remind others that it is far too easy to ignore ”˜stop signals”™ and to be cognizant that success can lead to ”˜unforced errors”™ of judgment.”
Pirro said that the presidential pardon he received from Trump “recognized that over the last 22 years since my conviction, I have contributed to society in a sustained and positive manner.”
Pirro recalled that at one time in Westchester only one major construction project was starting up at a time, whereas now multiple new major projects in the county launch within the same year. He expressed the opinion that there is a strategic confidence by investors in Westchester County and the metro region as a whole.
“Like the rest of the country, Westchester County is facing an interesting period of risk-reward regarding the real estate market,” according to Pirro. “With the advent of the pandemic, there was a significant reset in several sectors. While the industrial market was most stable, as a result of a remote workforce, the office market virtually stalled. Office leasing was at an all-time low. Many office buildings were acquired and put to adaptive reuse. Equally, the multi-family rental market, particularly in urban areas, slowed considerably, marked by rent reductions and abatements.”
Pirro pointed out that in 2021, the Westchester office market enjoyed the leasing of two million square feet, which mirrors pre-pandemic leasing.
“At the same time, investors sized up acquisition opportunities in properties zoned for multifamily residential. Communities were targeted where sufficient cash flow existed to support a resurgent market,” Pirro noted. “Westchester fits the bill. Westchester”™s higher-than-average household income base and proximity to New York City made it an ideal marketplace for new investment and real property acquisition.”
Pirro said that the residential developments underway in municipalities such as White Plains, Yonkers, West Harrison and Port Chester may “mean competitive rent for a while, but market saturation will not be a concern in the long run. This anticipated surge in Westchester”™s downtown multifamily rental market will create other real estate opportunities for both the retail and restaurant commercial markets.”
He mentioned that Louis Cappelli”™s The Cappelli Organization alone has completed several projects and will redevelop the four-decade-old Galleria mall in White Plains in partnership with SL Green. Pirro also sees strength in Westchester”™s industrial real estate sector.
“The industrial market in Westchester was relatively stable during the pandemic, and this condition will continue to the extent properties in industrial zones are available,” Pirro said. “Simone Development, best known for its strong medical office portfolio, has recently acquired several hundred thousand square feet of industrial space in Mount Vernon. At our firm, Abrams and Fensterman, we recently had a client ask us to find any industrial acquisition and development opportunities in proximity to major transportation thoroughfares in Westchester. There are not enough industrial opportunities in Westchester for their investors.”
When asked what among his many cases makes him most proud to be a lawyer and what advice he”™d give to young people interested in the field, Pirro replied, “Many people measure an attorney”™s success by the size or significance of the matter they work on. Certainly, there can be a reward in using those measurements. However, if you believe in giving back, then the greatest cases will be the quiet reward of helping those less fortunate. While I am proud of the projects I have successfully brought to fruition, I measure my career by that yardstick. My advice to young lawyers is to remember that the outcome in a legal matter is like life itself — unpredictable. Never predict an outcome. A particular outcome may be probable, but it is never predictable.”
