Zetlin & De Chiara Partners Participate on Two Post-Sandy Rebuilding Task Force Panels

Zetlin & De Chiara LLP is pleased to announce that Partners Michael Zetlin and Patricia Harris participated on panels that prepared post-Sandy recommendations in two recently-released reports.

Michael Zetlin participated on the New York Building Congress Task Force on New York Storm Preparedness, which was formed to bring together the talents and experience of leaders in the building community to help New York City better prepare for severe weather emergencies. Their report Risk & Resiliency After Sandy, released on June 6, exposes several important weaknesses in the City's storm preparations and response. The Task Force's recommendations focus on the need to improve emergency-planning and storm-preparedness oversight and harden the City's buildings as well as its critical utility and transportation infrastructure. The Task Force recommends that priorities for federal relief funds should include projects that focus on these core areas.

Patricia Harris served on The NYC Building Resiliency Task Force, which released its Report with 33 proposals on June 13. This was a group of more than 200 construction industry experts convened by Urban Green Council at the request of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn. The Task Force included real estate owners, property managers, architects, engineers, contractors, utility representatives, subject matter specialists, city officials, code consultants, cost estimators and attorneys. The goal was to take an in-depth look at how to better prepare our buildings for future extreme weather events and infrastructure failures with a focus on both new construction and potential retrofits to existing structures. Patricia participated in the Special Committee on Homes and assisted the Committee on Critical Buildings. She was nominated by colleagues as a member deserving of special recognition for her contributions to the NYC Building Resiliency Task Force.

Michael S. Zetlin, founder of Zetlin & De Chiara LLP and graduate civil engineer as well as an attorney, has successfully litigated complex multi-million dollar construction claims and actively consults with clients on general business matters, construction contracting and risk management. Mr. Zetlin represents owners, developers, architects, engineers, construction managers, contractors and other parties in the construction industry. He serves as General Counsel to the New York Building Congress and the American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter. He is a Fellow of the American College of Construction Lawyers, a co-editor of New York Construction Law and an adjunct professor at Columbia University, teaching the graduate program "Legal Issues in Building Construction."

Patricia A. Harris, JD, MBA, LEED AP, is Partner and Chief Management Officer of leading construction law firm Zetlin & De Chiara LLP. Patricia oversees the business operations of the firm and has advised clients on records retention, employee management issues and other business practices. In addition to the NYC Building Resiliency Task Force, she serves on the Executive Committee of the Global Design Alliance and the Beverly Willis Architecture Foundation Board of Trustees. She is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators and frequently lectures on topics of office management, business planning, and building issues.