East Meadow, NY Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman, LLP has made the following changes to its staff:
• Jensen Ambachen joined the condominium and cooperative law practice group at Certilman Balin as counsel. Ambachen was a former assistant attorney general in the real estate finance bureau at the NYS attorney general’s office. He has experience in and a comprehensive understanding of offering plans, coop/condominium boards and home owners associations.  He has previously held senior attorney positions at the NYC School Construction Authority and the NYC Department of Buildings. He earned his Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law in 2001, and his bachelor of arts in Political Science, from Stony Brook University in 1997. Admitted to practice in the State of New York, he is a member of the NYS and the NYC Bar Associations.
• Michael Amoroso has been named of counsel to the real estate, land use and zoning practice groups at Certilman Balin. Previously, Amoroso was an associate at the firm. He is based in the Hauppauge office. Prior to joining the firm, for six years Amoroso was the bureau chief of the Suffolk County Department of Law’s Real Estate and Condemnation Bureau.  Under Amoroso’s management and supervision the bureau, which consists of five attorneys, provides legal advice to various county departments and prepares formal and informal legal opinions related to real estate matters for county agencies including the county treasurer, county clerk, parks department and the Suffolk County sewer agency. He brings a wealth of experience to Certilman Balin. Before taking the helm as Suffolk County’s bureau chief, he practiced law for 20 years at two other Long Island law firms in the areas of commercial and residential real estate and general litigation matters including municipal law, personal injury, matrimonial and trusts and estates. He earned his Juris Doctor from St. John’s University School of Law, his Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in psychology from the State University of New York at Albany, and is admitted to practice in the state of New York and before the Appellate Division, Second Department.
• Rachel Scelfo joined the land use and zoning practice group as counsel. She is located in the firm’s Hauppauge office. Prior to joining the firm, she was counsel to Farrell Fritz for 11 years. She has experience in representing corps, developers and individuals in a myriad of zoning and land use matters before municipal boards, including zoning and planning boards. She has served as counsel to several village boards including zoning boards and design review boards and represents clients in district courts and village courts with respect to code violations. Her practice includes the preparation, filing and managing of applications for change of zones, site plan review, subdivisions, variances and special use permits in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.  She also represents clients in litigation matters involving the towns and villages, including Article 78 proceedings. As a senior assistant town attorney in the Town of Babylon town attorney’s office from 2003 until 2005, she served as counsel to the Town of Babylon Zoning Board of Appeals and as Special Assistant District Attorney prosecuting Town Code violations. She earned her Juris Doctor from the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University in 2002. From Stony Brook University in 1999, she earned a Master of Arts in Political Science, concentrating in Public Policy; and in 1998, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History. She interned at the District Court Bureau of the Office of the Suffolk County District Attorney, and worked for two years as a law clerk at a boutique law firm in Suffolk County assisting a sole practitioner with his litigation practice, while attending law school. She is a member of the Babylon Village Zoning Board, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Art League of Long Island. She also serves as Vice President of the West Babylon Public Library Board of Trustees. In 2014, the Nassau County Bar Association recognized Scelfo as an Access to Justice Pro Bono Honoree, and she has earned an AV Preeminent Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Rating. Admitted to practice in the state of New York, she is a member of the Nassau County Bar Association. She resides in Babylon Village with her husband, John Farrell, and their two children.
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