Michael Eng, Garfunkel Wild, P.C.

What was the best thing that happened to you or your firm in 2014? As a real estate lawyer at a firm which focuses much of its attention on the healthcare arena, I was fortunate to be involved in the Long Beach Hospital bankruptcy disposition which included significant real property assets. As a Long Island native, it was hard to observe how superstorm Sandy crippled access to healthcare in many areas. It was rewarding to participate in a transaction that preserved the charitable mission of the struggling hospital. in its conveyances to another local community medical center. What was your most notable project, deal, transaction or personal achievement in 2014? I had the privilege of representing the purchaser of a portfolio of nursing homes, valued at over $119 million. It was an incredibly rewarding experience as it was a transaction that took us across several state lines, involved complex financings, and provided great educational exercises in handling unique title, property line and other survey issues. What are you looking forward to accomplishing in 2015? I am hoping to be at the forefront of my peers in the handling of the unique needs of healthcare individuals and institutions as it relates to real estate. The ever changing regulatory environment often transforms the "routine" or "cookie cutter" transaction into a complex series of moving parts and I am excited to be involved with such transactions. What are some of your real estate predictions for 2015? As New York continues to implement the Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) Program to the State's healthcare providers, I anticipate that health care clients will be affiliating and working more closely together. That synthesis of operation will mean location consolidation. In addition, appealing interest rates and a resurgence in the banking industry's desire to lend will likely cause continued growth in the commercial acquisition marketplace.