Anthony S. Guardino

Anthony S. Guardino is a trusted and experienced land use and municipal attorney who advises some of the region’s largest developers and real estate owners to obtain the land use approvals needed to develop or redevelop their properties with commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-family residential uses. His clients include several national retailers and fast-casual restaurateurs who seek new locations on Long Island. For many matters, Anthony must guide the client through the complexities of the State Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”), state and local wetlands regulations, and other environmental regulations that impact the development process. He also represents developers and owners to obtain the ancillary approvals that are required from the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (“SCDHS”), Suffolk County Sewer Agency and Pine Barrens Commission, including the transfer of Pine Barrens Credits and other sanitary credits, when necessary.

Anthony regularly appears before city, town and village boards throughout Nassau and Suffolk counties on a broad range of land use and zoning matters, such as applications for zoning changes, variances, special permits, subdivision, and site plan approval. His work is well-known by many city, town and village officials, and respected by the boards that he appears before. Local governments have drawn upon his expertise to assist them in drafting their own land use regulations.

In matters where litigation becomes necessary, Anthony’s counsel is sought to represent clients in connection with Article 78 proceedings that challenge land use determinations made by local governments. He has successfully litigated a number of land-use related cases at both trial and appellate levels. Many of those cases involved challenges to decisions by municipal bodies, as well as claims under SEQRA, adverse possession, easement rights and other title issues.

Anthony’s governmental experience includes counseling several towns and villages in Nassau and Suffolk counties, two fire districts, and a library district. He is currently the Village Attorney in the villages of Huntington Bay and Old Field, where he provides advice to their boards of trustees, planning boards and zoning boards.

With a great depth of experience and knowledge, Anthony writes a well-read land use column for the New York Law Journal covering a wide range of zoning and land use planning matters. He also regularly contributes to the firm’s land use blog. As an invited speaker at seminars on land use, zoning law, and SEQRA, he has spoken at events hosted by the New York State Bar Association, Nassau County Bar Association, Suffolk County Bar Association, Suffolk County Village Officials Association, Cornell University, St. John’s School of Law, Touro College Law Center, and Hofstra University. He has also participated in programs sponsored by private providers of continuing education for attorneys, architects, engineers, and other development professionals.

In his practice, Anthony draws upon his formal training as a land use planner and prior experience as a planner with a New York City-based development consulting firm.