SHARPTON LAWYER APPLIES FOR JUSTICE

Sanford Rubenstein Says No To Sign-in Sheet at 16 Court St.
by Ryan Thompson (court@brooklyneagle.net), published online 03-24-2008

By Ryan ThompsonBrooklyn Daily Eagle
COURT STREET — Prominent civil-rights attorney Sanford A. Rubenstein, who works out of his law firm on the 17th floor of 16 Court St., has sent a letter to the building’s new owners in protest of the planned policy of having all who enter sign their names.
“I wish to express my opposition to this new policy as a tenant of long standing at 16 Court Street. Requiring a sign-in will create a hardship for potential clients of my office who may not want to stand in line to sign in as a condition for visiting my office. There is no need for this type of security in the building, and it will cause a hardship for tenants such as my law firm who have a busy law practice with clients visiting my office on a regular basis and new clients visiting for the first time,” Rubenstein wrote.

Rubenstein, who was in Miami on Friday after the Sean Bell trial in Queens had adjourned, sent the letter to the building’s new landlord, SL Green Realty Corp., on March 13. The letter was specifically addressed to Nick Hayden, the portfolio manager at SL Green Realty, and Hayden said Friday that he only received the letter on Thursday and was in the process of responding to Rubenstein.
Hayden did not finish his response by press time, but said simply that the plan was to institute a “standard sign-in policy.”

However, Rubenstein, who has been a tenant of 16 Court St. for nearly 20 years, said that a standard sign-in policy is unnecessary, and that he doesn’t know of any similar office building on Court Street that employs such a requirement.
“I think it’s an unnecessary intrusion,” he said. “It’s almost intimidating to require people who come in to the building to sign in.”

Rubenstein believes the main burden on his clients will be having to stand in line, go through the sign-in procedure, and experience the unnecessary delay.
“Please be placed on notice that if this policy creates a loss of business for my law firm, it will be because of a new policy which is unnecessary and which creates a hardship on your tenants,” Rubenstein further wrote.

The 38-story building at the corner of Montague Street, which is the tallest commercial building in Brooklyn, now that the Williamsburgh Savings Bank clock-tower has been converted to residential space, was purchased last year by SL Green Realty and The City Investment Fund for $107.5 million.
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2008