Sachs—Joel H. born March 27, 1942, passed away unexpectedly after a brief illness in White Plains, New York. Joel leaves behind his loving wife of 47 years, Roslyn Carol Sachs, and cherished daughters Beth Sachs Zoller (Ron) of Livingston, New Jersey and Lori Sachs Harrison (Alexander) of Scarsdale, New York. He was extraordinarily proud of his grandchildren David, Sarah, and Talia Zoller, and Maxwell and Lily Harrison. He is also survived by his beloved aunt Gertrude Berlin of Boca Raton, Florida and his dear cousin Jo Ann Berlin, MD of Port Saint Lucie, Florida. Joel was preceded in death by his brother Melvin A. Sachs, Esq., and his parents Rose (Ronnie) and Harold Sachs.
Joel was born in New York City, attended Mount Vernon High School, and raised his own family in Edgemont/Scarsdale, New York. Joel was the epitome living life to the fullest and he was always on the move, aiming to fill each day with fun and excitement. He and his wife Roslyn traveled the United States and the world over as he loved history, culture, and the arts. Joel enjoyed going to the theater, concerts, museums, and sporting events, often with his wife and family. He loved to watch and to play sports of all kinds. He enjoyed golf and swimming and attended frequent football, baseball, hockey, and basketball games. He held season tickets to the Giants for over 50 years and even in the deep cold of winter, he rarely missed a game. He served as counsel for the Lake Placid Winter Organizing Olympics and then also attended the winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and summer Olympics in London and Montreal.
For the past 28 years, Joel was a member of the White Plains law firm of Keane & Beane, P.C. where he represented numerous private entities and governmental agencies in a wide variety of environmental and land use matters. He established the firm’s environmental law practice and greatly expanded the firm’s land use practice. A significant portion of his practice was devoted to representing municipalities and private clients throughout the State of New York in land use, zoning, and environmental disputes. Throughout his long and distinguished career, he represented clients in all federal and state courts in New York State including the New York Court of Appeals, the Appellate Divisions, and all the federal district courts in New York, the Second Circuit as well as the United States Supreme Court. He also served as Construction Arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association.
For the past forty years, Joel also served as an Adjunct Professor at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law of Pace University teaching courses on State and Municipal Environmental Law, Land Use and Construction Law. He was also the first Director of the Municipal Law Resource Center at the Law School.
Joel received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University and received his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He has a Masters of Law from New York University. Early in his career, he clerked for the Honorable Charles H. Tenney of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and then served as an Assistant Attorney General of the State of New York and Deputy Chief of its Environmental Protection Bureau for five years. As an attorney at the New York State Attorney General’s Office in the 1970s, Joel played a significant role in the development of environmental law in New York. He was the first Deputy Chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau at the Attorney General’s Office, the first such bureau in any state Attorney General’s Office. Thereafter, he served several years as an attorney for the Town of Greenburgh, and continued as counsel to many municipalities throughout the Hudson Valley and beyond.
Mr. Sachs was widely recognized as a leader in the Real Property Law Section (Chair) and the Environmental Law Section (Chair) of the New York State Bar Association, the Westchester County Bar Association (President), the Westchester County Legal Aid Society, and the White Plains Bar Association (President) and the National Institute of Municipal Law Officers. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of Lyndhurst.
Mr. Sachs received numerous awards, accolades, and honors for his pioneering work in environmental law. Joel had been named Best Environmental Attorney in Westchester County by Westchester Magazine, best environmental attorney by the New York Times Magazine, and one of the best environmental attorneys in the New York Metropolitan area by New York Magazine on multiple occasions. In addition, Mr. Sachs was annually listed in the reference book, Best Lawyers in America (Environmental). He was also named to the Metro Super Lawyers List, one of the 25 best attorneys in Westchester County on multiple occasions. Mr. Sachs has enjoyed writing and lecturing on environmental law matters for many years before bar association groups on environmental and land use topics.
In honor of Joel’s memory, donations may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research in honor of his late brother Mel A. Sachs who bravely fought this disease.
There will be a private graveside funeral and interment at Sharon Gardens in Valhalla, New York on Wednesday January 27, 2021 at 1 p.m. In light of COVID restrictions, Shiva will take place over Zoom. Please contact the family for information. A larger memorial will be planned once COVID restrictions are eased.
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