JOEL R. MARCUS, Partner
JOEL R. MARCUS is a graduate of Hofstra Law School. He was an Assistant Corporation Counsel at the Certiorari and Condemnation Division of the New York City Law Department, from 1975 to 1980. From 1980 to 1990, he was in charge of the Tax Certiorari and Condemnation department at the law firm of Shea & Gould, where he became a partner in 1986. He is a former President of the New York City Real Estate Tax Review Bar Association and a member of Tax Certiorari and Condemnation Committie of The Association of the Bar of The City of New York. From 1990 to 2005 Mr. Marcus was a partner at Pottish Freyberg Marcus & Velazquez, LLP. He is a lecturer at the New York State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Program and a member of the property tax committee of the Real Estate Board of New York. He is also published regularly in real estate industry magazines. Mr. Marcus won a decision at trial in 1990 involving One New York Plaza which resulted in a $42,000,000 real estate tax refund. This groundbreaking case established acceptance of asbestos contamination as a basis for tax reduction and still stands as the largest Court ordered award in New York City.
ROBERT M. POLLACK, Partner
ROBERT M. POLLACK is a graduate of the University of Rochester and Fordham Law School. Mr. Pollack began his career in real estate taxation as an appraiser, preparing valuation studies for use in tax certiorari trials. He is a former Senior Assessor for the New York City Department of Finance, where he worked closely with the New York City Tax Commission. Since 1987 Mr. Pollack’s prior firm, Robert M. Pollack, P.C., has represented major real estate owners and developers in real estate tax matters in New York City. Mr. Pollack has been successful in establishing many precedents in property tax exemption and assessment policies for complex development projects.
GLENN BORIN, Managing Attorney
GLENN BORIN is a graduate of the New York University School of Law. Before joining Marcus & Pollack, Mr. Borin was Special Counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, where he specialized in tax certiorari proceedings, property tax planning and municipal benefits. Previously, Mr. Borin served as Chairman of the Nassau County Assessment Review Commission and held senior property tax positions for New York City, including Deputy Commissioner of Finance.
PHILIP H. AZARIAN, Senior Associate
PHILIP H. AZARIAN is a 1993 cum laude graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. Before joining Marcus & Pollack, Mr. Azarian was a Deputy Assistant Chief Counsel at the New York City Law Department, Office of the Corporation Counsel, where he specialized in all phases of tax certiorari litigation in addition to overseeing in rem and Tax Lien Foreclosure proceedings. Mr. Azarian left the City Law Department in 1998 to join the Law Offices of Robert M. Pollack P.C., which merged into Marcus & Pollack in 2005.
BRUCE A. BRASKY, Associate Attorney
BRUCE A. BRASKY is a graduate of Cardozo School of Law. Mr. Brasky practiced for 24 years at the New York City Department of Finance where he served as the Director of Real Estate Tax and Exemptions Policy. Mr. Brasky also served as the Director of the Industrial and Commercial Incentive Program.
STEVE TISHCO, Associate Attorney
Prior to joining Marcus & Pollack, STEVE TISHCO worked as a Senior Counsel at the New York City Law Department’s Office of the Corporation Counsel. While at the Law Department, Mr. Tishco regularly litigated all phases of the City’s real property tax disputes, and also managed and supervised a staff of City attorneys and assessors. Mr. Tishco is a graduate of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, where he served as an Articles Editor for the Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, from the University of Maryland.
EMILY BLATT, Associate Attorney
EMILY BLATT, a graduate of Boston University and Hofstra University School of Law. Emily specializes in real estate tax certiorari proceedings at the administrative and judicial level. She appears regularly before the New York State Courts and various New York City agencies. Ms. Blatt also represents organizations seeking tax exemptions.
KRISTINE S. LOFFREDO, Associate Attorney
Kristine S. Loffredo handles real property tax exemption and abatement matters, particularly the Industrial Commercial Abatement Program (ICAP), including planning, opinions and compliance. Ms. Loffredo is a graduate of New York Law School, where she served as a contributing member and graduate of the Center for Business and Financial Law. She received her B.A. from New York University.
