Henry A. Zomerfeld

Henry is a partner at Hodgson Russ and co-leader of the firm’s Election Law & Campaign Finance Practice. He concentrates his practice on the intersection of government, development, and policy, focusing on environmental, energy, land use, municipal law, and elections matters. Drawing on his deep understanding of New York’s legal and regulatory framework, Henry provides clients with strategic and practical guidance that bridges political, administrative, and economic considerations. His experience spans administrative and judicial forums, where he represents clients in real estate and commercial litigation, tax assessment disputes under the Real Property Tax Law, special proceedings under Article 78 of the Civil Practice Law and Rules, and high-stakes election-related challenges.

In his election law practice, Henry advises candidates, campaign committees, elected officials, and public-sector clients on navigating the requirements of New York Election Law. His practice focuses on legal and procedural compliance and strategic advantage, including ballot access, petition and election contests, recounts, and campaign finance requirements, along with related legal challenges. Henry is experienced with the legal and technical standards governing elections. He regularly appears before local boards of elections and litigates cases in trial courts, the Appellate Division, and the New York Court of Appeals. See, e.g., Amedure v. State of New York, 232 A.D.3d 48 (3d Dep’t 2024), aff’d 43 N.Y.3d 116 (2024).

Complementing this public-sector focus, Henry represents and counsels municipalities on matters involving zoning, land use, code enforcement, takings/eminent domain, the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), and the Open Meetings Law (OML). He provides guidance to both municipal and private clients on land use and real estate development issues, including project permitting, approvals, requests for area and use variances, and in related zoning litigation.

Additionally, Henry maintains a robust practice in property tax and exemptions. He draws on his experience to advise developers of renewable energy projects across New York on real property tax implications, including the interplay of Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) Section 487 exemptions and payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements. He represents clients in obtaining exemptions under RPTL Section 420-a for non-profits and RPTL Section 485-b for commercial/industrial facilities.

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