Adam Stolorow

Practice Areas

Hazardous Substances Remediation, Zoning, Land Use, and Municipal Law, Litigation, Climate Change and Resiliency

Career

Adam is an experienced litigator specializing in environmental, land use, regulatory and municipal law. He represents private parties, municipalities and government agencies in a wide range of issues including the environmental review of development projects under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), compliance and resolution of environmental enforcement matters before federal, state, and local agencies, zoning challenges, redevelopment of brownfield properties and site remediation. His work on Superfund cases includes the representation of a multi-national corporation at a complex contaminated sediment site and the representation of a Native American nation as trustee for natural resource damages claims.

As a founding Board member of the NYC Climate Action Alliance, Adam is committed to finding environmental solutions that help the City achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent and offsetting remaining emissions to achieve a carbon-neutral NYC by 2050.

Prior to joining SPR in 2011, Adam served as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Environmental Law Division of the New York City Law Department, where he defended the City’s initiative to “green” its yellow taxi fleet against claims of preemption under the Clean Air Act, brought litigation to defend the City’s watershed, and defended City infrastructure projects in cases involving SEQRA and the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), the use of City parkland, and eminent domain. Before attending law school, Adam served as the statewide volunteer coordinator and aide to then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama, and as a communications officer in the United States Army Signal Corps.

Professional Memberships

Bar Admissions: New York, 2009, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit

Publications

“Local Law 154 Pulls the Plug on Fossil Fuels in New Buildings: Is New York City Ready for Its All-Electric Future?,"33 Environmental Law in New York 169, October 2022 | Written by Adam Stolorow (and Evan Preminger)

“Affordable Housing and Climate Mitigation in New York City: Compliance and Financing Options for Building Owners Under Local Laws 97 and 116,″ 32 Environmental Law in New York 19, February 2021 | Written by Adam Stolorow and Alexis Saba

“The Environmental Lawyer’s Role in an Environmental Crisis,” The New York Environmental Lawyer, Fall 2016 | Written by Adam Stolorow

Work Highlights

Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival: The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival (HVSF), a critically acclaimed nonprofit theater organization, has proposed to build a new permanent theater overlooking the Hudson River in Garrison, New York. The project is designed to be the first purpose-built LEED Platinum certified theater in the United States. In 2023 HVSF was awarded a $10 million grant from the New York State Council of the Arts to help build their new theater. SPR is guiding the project through the process of environmental impact review, local land use approvals, a proposed zoning amendment, and review of construction contracts.

Indian Hill Park Conservancy: SPR successfully opposed a proposal to construct a new cellular tower in Indian Hill Park that would have required the construction of a half-mile access road through pristine forested parkland and the potential destruction of Native American ceremonial stone landscapes.

Long Island Power Authority – Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center: SPR successfully defended the construction of the Jones Beach Energy & Nature Center in litigation challenging the environmental review and permitting of the project under SEQRA, NEPA, the federal Land & Water Conservation Fund Act and other state and federal laws, and alleging violation of the public trust doctrine for alienation of state parkland. SPR secured decisions in Nassau County Supreme Court, the Eastern District of New York, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals dismissing all claims against LIPA and upholding the construction of the Energy & Nature Center.

Village of Mamaroneck – Ethics Code: SPR served as special counsel to the Mayor of the Village of Mamaroneck during a disciplinary hearing to determine whether a member of the Village Planning Board who had been found to have violated the Village Code of Ethics should be removed from her appointed position. Subsequently, SPR successfully defended the Village Board of Trustees in litigation challenging the constitutionality of the provisions of the Village Code of Ethics that were at issue in the disciplinary hearing.

Tuscarora Nation – Buffalo River NRD: SPR represented the Tuscarora Nation, who served as a trustee alongside the State of New York and the federal government, in long-running negotiations with companies responsible for the contamination of the Buffalo River. The historical contamination of the river had for many decades prevented the Tuscarora people from using the river for traditional cultural activities. Along with land and funds for restoration projects along the river, the CERCLA natural resource damages (NRD) settlement included funds to support the Tuscarora Nation in efforts to preserve its language and promote ecological initiatives to reconnect Tuscarora people with the land.

Education