Professionals

Martha Stark is the only person in the New York City area practicing property tax law who has also served as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, the 2,400-person tax agency responsible for collecting more than $22 billion in revenue and valuing New York City’s more than one million properties and administering the property tax. She was also responsible for overseeing the administration of the commercial rent, corporate, unincorporated business, mortgage recording, and real property transfer taxes. Stark also serves as the Policy Director and data analyst for Tax Equity Now New York, the organization that recently filed a lawsuit challenging the New York City property tax structure. She has also served as a consultant for the Real Estate Board of New York, Rent Stabilization Association, and the New York University Furman Center. Ms. Stark served as a White House Fellow at the United States Department of State during President Bill Clinton’s Administration. She was a finalist to serve as New York State Comptroller in 2007 in a special legislative appointment procedure where she received 56 votes. She earned her law and undergraduate degrees from New York University where she played varsity basketball and served as the team’s co-captain for three years. She is a life trustee on the New York University Law Foundation Board of Directors. She also received an Associate’s degree in Graphic Arts and Advertising from New York City Community College.

Allan Patricof has over 30 years of extensive experience as a real estate developer and lawyer. His diverse background in all levels of land development and home building includes property development feasibility, due diligence analysis, acquisitions, financing, entitlements, architecture and general contracting. Allan has built nearly 200 homes and developed over a dozen lots. As a real estate attorney, he has represented countless clients in complex commercial and residential transactions, including closings and re-finances. A graduate of Ithaca College, Allan was Law Review at Southwestern University Law School, studied abroad at Oxford University and graduated from Fordham Law School in 1986. He also has government experience, having served as an Administrative Law Judge in New York City for close to a decade.