With Primary Day a week away on Thursday September 13th, the senate campaign of Councilman Eric Ulrich has released a statement identifying opponent Juan Reyes as a special interest lawyer with a concentration in land use and zoning.
In his position at Manhattan law firm Reed Smith LLP, Reyes is a registered lobbyist and has been for years, according to the Ulrich campaign. Now the campaign has called on Reyes to fully disclose all of his clients to the public.
A statement issued by Ulrich’s campaign manager detailed the reasoning behind their call for Reyes to come clean with his client list. “Juan Reyes is currently a registered lobbyist and has been for years,” said Bob Capano. “The residents of the 15th Senatorial District have a right to know which clients Juan Reyes works for, some of which may have a part in destroying the character of New York City neighborhoods. Therefore, I call on Mr. Reyes to disclose all of his clients.”
The official press statement from Reed Smith, LLP announcing Mr. Reyes’s hiring as Partner in its Real Estate Group specializing in Land Use and Zoning in January 2010 stated the following: because zoning issues often need to be resolved on the front-end in so many deals, his work positions the firm to provide transactional services from beginning to end for a broad range of regional and international clients…He has obtained variances and rezonings throughout New York City…His clients include residential and commercial developers.
Mr. Capano added, “Voters have a right to know who he has obtained variances for, which may have faced vast community opposition. Unfortunately, regional and international clients and developers do not always have the communities’ best interest in mind. Middle-class families need someone in the state senate who has a record of fighting for them, as Eric Ulrich has done in the City Council, not a special interest lobbyist who works for a Manhattan law firm against the interests of those he seeks to represent in the Senate.”
Capano also pointed out that Reyes has refused to commit to leaving his firm if elected.
