Attorneys

Jay B. Itkowitz

Founding Partner

Jay B. Itkowitz is the founding partner of Itkowitz & Harwood, an AV-rated, boutique law firm specializing in complex commercial litigation, real estate litigation, and real estate transactions, that has been serving the business community in New York City for over twenty years. See our "Accomplishments of Interest" sections which contain over 100 decisions of some of I&H's victories over the last two decades. Mr. Itkowitz is admitted to practice in New York State, the U.S. District Court, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the U.S. Court of Appeals 2d Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. Mr. Itkowitz graduated from New York Law School with honors in 1977, where he published a note in the Law Review.

Mr. Itkowitz's firm has cleared several buildings for major capital projects. I&H was lead counsel, for example, in evicting tenants from Grand Central Station in the mid 1990's so that its historic renovation could be commenced. Other "de-leasing" projects include clearing: a building at 750 Lexington Avenue for Cohen Bros. Real Estate Corp.; the New York City headquarters of the Directors Guild of America, Inc.; the New York Coliseum for the Triborough Bridge And Tunnel Authority; and a building on 11th Avenue in Manhattan containing approximately 150 sub-tenants for Charles Benenson & Preston R. Tisch.

Mr. Itkowitz is a top real estate litigator not only because of his extensive trial and appellate experience, but also because he is in the real estate business himself. He is a managing partner of a number of residential and commercial real estate projects, and is currently building a regional company offering state-of-the-art office suites for attorneys and other professionals. Mr. Itkowitz manages 32,000 square feet of office space, including 16,000 square feet in the prestigious National Newark Building in Newark, New Jersey. Moreover, he is currently engaged in building a ten unit residential condo building in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Mr. Itkowitz has been an adjunct professor of legal writing at New York Law School and has authored many articles and given many lectures on real estate issues, including for the Practicing Law Institute, the New York State Bar Association, and the Rent Stabilization Association. Mr. Itkowitz and the I&H Partners authored a chapter on lease remedy clauses for the New York State Bar Association Commercial Leasing Manual.

In 1992, at the request of the District Attorney, Mr. Itkowitz became a confidential informant against wrongdoers in the insurance industry, and gathered evidence, even wearing a concealed wire, which lead to a wide-ranging investigation that resulted in numerous indictments and convictions. Mr. Itkowitz, a former investigative journalist for newspapers in the New York Metropolitan Area, began his legal career as an Assistant Corporation Counsel for the City of New York and has clerked for a U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of New York and a Kings County Supreme Court Judge.

Use the toolbar above to see more in depth information on Mr. Itkowitz. You may especially enjoy reading his November 1970 interview of Jerry Garcia.

 

 

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