David Paget

Practice Areas

Environmental Impact Review/Permitting, Litigation, Climate Change and Resiliency

Career

David Paget has been long and widely recognized as one of this country’s leading practitioners of environmental law and litigation. He has been principally responsible for overseeing the preparation of environmental impact statements and assessment for an imposing number of major public and private development and infrastructure projects. In that capacity he has also had the responsibility for securing approvals and permits for those projects under a myriad of federal and state laws and regulations, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act and their state counterparts. As an accomplished litigator, he has been responsible for defending lawsuits contesting those projects. The clearest measure of his success in that regard is that he has never had a project blocked by litigation.

David began litigating and managing environmental cases in the early 1970s following his service as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York and as associate at Kaye, Scholer, Fierman, Hays & Handler. Among his current engagements, David is serving as the legal consultant to an international and national array of experts, retained by the City of New York to assess and advise it of measures to address climate change adaptation and coastal flood protection.

Professional Memberships

Bar Admissions: New York, 1964, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, United States Supreme Court, 1969

Work Highlights

Queens West Development Corporation

Location: New York, NY

The firm represents the Queens West Development Corporation (QWDC), a subsidiary of Empire State Development and a cooperative undertaking of the State of New York and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. QWDC has overseen the remediation and redevelopment of former industrial waterfront property along the East River in Long Island City, Queens. The project boundaries extend from the Anable Basin to 50th Avenue, west of 5th Street. SPR advised on the preparation of the EIS for the project, and successfully defended the EIS against a judicial challenge. The Firm helped to structure and negotiate environmental liability risk management protections associated with the property acquisition, oversee contaminated soil remediation pursuant to the Voluntary and Brownfield Cleanup Programs, secure the necessary tidal wetlands permits and other regulatory approvals that authorized the construction of eleven residential buildings (over 4,600 housing units), over 170,000 square feet of retail amenities, public streets and utilities, two public schools and 13 acres of public parkland and recreational areas that has greatly enhanced the Long Island City community. The Firm also represented QWDC and a private developer in litigation to recover costs associated with certain aspects of remediation.

Hudson River Park

Location: New York, NY

From its inception, SPR has served as environmental and litigation counsel to the Hudson River Park Trust on major proposed projects in Hudson River Park, most recently Little Island, Pier 57, and Gansevoort Peninsula. Little Island is a distinctive pier offering world-class recreation and performing arts events, with the support of a donation from the Diller/von Furstenberg Family Foundation – the largest gift to a public park in the history of New York State. Little Island was the subject of litigation in state and federal court for over two years, during which SPR successfully overcame a challenge to the Trust’s environmental review and a challenge to the permit issued by the DEC (as co-counsel with the State).

SPR also helped the Trust obtain new permits after the donor terminated and then restarted the Project. Pier 57 was transformed from its original maritime use to an indoor/outdoor public space and food hall. SPR advised the Trust with respect to the preparation of an environmental impact statement for Pier 57 as well as obtaining environmental permits. The Gansevoort Peninsula is a public beach and passive recreation space that replaces a former sanitation facility. SPR advised on environmental permitting and represented the Trust in litigation challenging the Gansevoort Peninsula project.

The Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge

Location: Westchester County, NY

SPR represented the New York State Thruway Authority, which together with the Metro North Railroad, a subsidiary of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, undertook the Tappan Zee Bridge/I287 Corridor environmental review. This process addressed the possible replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. SPR advised the Project Sponsors with regard to the environmental review of the proposal pursuant to both NEPA and SEQRA, as well as to environmental permitting and related requirements.

Yankee Stadium

Location: Bronx, NY

SPR represented the New York Yankees in connection with the development of the new Yankee stadium in the Bronx. The project also included the construction of additional parking facilities, and the creation of new parkland and recreational facilities at and in the immediate vicinity of the existing stadium, as well as along the Harlem River waterfront. SPR successfully defended the New York Yankees in the lawsuit that challenged the environmental review and parkland aspect of this project.

Arthur Kill Terminal

Location: Staten Island, NY

SPR is environmental counsel to the developer of the proposed Arthur Kill Terminal, the first offshore wind pre-assembly port facility in New York State. SPR assisted in identifying and acquiring the project site and is shepherding the project through the state and federal permitting and approval processes. This Staten Island project is uniquely positioned to serve the offshore wind industry in the Mid-Atlantic and will form a hub for the development of an offshore wind supply chain. The project will reduce the cost of constructing and operating offshore wind projects, facilitate the realization of significant local economic benefits, create thousands of jobs, provide workforce development and training, and catalyze supply chain investments needed to support offshore wind projects throughout the United States.

Battery Park City Authority – Resiliency Projects

Location: Lower Manhattan, NY

Battery Park City Authority is currently pursuing two resiliency projects – the South Battery Park Coastal Resiliency (SBPCR) Project and the North/West Battery Park Coastal Resiliency (NWBPCR) Project. The projects will protect Battery Park City and adjacent areas of Lower Manhattan from a 100-year storm. SPR advised BPCA with respect to the environmental impact review, permitting and approvals for the SBPCR Project and successfully defended a legal challenge to the sufficiency of the environmental review. That Project is currently under construction. SPR is currently advising BPCA with respect to the environmental impact review, permitting and approvals for the NWBPCR Project.

Financial District Seaport Resiliency

Location: New York, NY

SPR represents the NYC Economic Development Corporation with respect to the Financial District and Seaport Climate Resilience Master Plan, which is part of the New York City’s Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project, an unprecedented integrated coastal protection initiative aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea level rise in Lower Manhattan. The Master Plan will set forth a phased approach to implementing coastal resiliency measures in the most low-lying and complex reach of Lower Manhattan. The Firm is environmental counsel on the environmental impact review and permitting for the Master Plan.

BQE Central Project

Location: New York, NY

SPR is advising the New York City Department of Transportation with respect to the environmental impact review of the BQE Central project pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, New York State Environmental Quality Review Act and City Environmental Quality Review, as well as the various federal, state and local permit and approvals that would be required. The BQE Central project will address structural and safety concerns along a 1.5-mile segment of the Brooklyn Queens Expressway, including the historic “triple cantilever”.

American Museum of Natural History

Location: New York, NY

SPR represented the American Museum of Natural History with respect to the Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation. An approximately 190,000 square-foot addition to the Museum, the Gilder Center houses new and modernized classrooms, stores and displays more of the Museum’s unparalleled collections, and provides innovative exhibition spaces. The firm represented the Museum during the preparation of the project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement and successfully defended the Project in New York State Supreme Court. The Appellate Division, First Department unanimously affirmed the Supreme Court’s decision. The Gilder Center opened in 2023.

Lenox Hill Hospital

Location: New York, NY

SPR is serving as environmental counsel for Northwell Health regarding the redevelopment of the Lenox Hill Hospital, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The redevelopment project will make Lenox Hill a state-of-the-art hospital featuring single-bedded patient rooms, advanced and adaptable operating rooms, an enlarged emergency department, and a relocated, improved ambulance bay. While this project began before the pandemic, Lenox Hill’s important role in responding to the COVID-19 crisis in New York City – which quickly became an epicenter for the pandemic – confirmed the need for these changes to better equip the hospital to address future public health challenges and improve the quality of patient care.

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Education