Kenneth A. Leitner, Esq.
kleitner@strategicpoliticalgroup.com
Kenneth A. Leitner, Esq. is a practicing attorney and a hands-on business, legal and policy executive. He has more than ten years experience negotiating and managing major real estate and business transactions and has a proven ability to coordinate the various aspects of complex transactions and navigate the government approval process. Ken is also highly skilled in the areas of corporate law and governance, litigation, economic and business development and provides effective strategic planning, public relations and government affairs services.
From 1999 to 2011, Ken served as the Vice President and General Counsel of the Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation of the State of New York (RIOC), the public benefit corporation responsible for the development and operation of Roosevelt Island. From both legal and policy perspectives, Ken guided RIOC’s major development projects and business transactions. He was the lead negotiator and key member of the corporation’s management team that turned around what was once a financially distressed public authority. Through his efforts, RIOC revitalized its residential and commercial properties and created an attractive environment for development in which new, defining projects have been constructed. Ken helped bring to fruition more than $750 million in new construction, the development of 2500 new mixed-income residential units, the preservation of thousands of existing affordable dwelling units, the revitalization of 90,000+ square feet of commercial space, and the creation of over $300 million of increased revenue for the corporation.
A former New York City Assistant District Attorney, Ken has practiced both civil and criminal litigation. He has also provided business development, strategic planning, and project management services to not-for-profit organizations. Ken has served on the law committee of a major political party in New York City and has advised elected officials on their political campaigns.