Evan Blau

As Chair of Cassin & Cassin’s Agency Lending and Affordable Housing Practice in New York, Evan Blau represents nearly every major agency lender for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and has provided legal counsel on many of the nation’s most complex and challenging affordable housing transactions.

Under his stewardship, the firm’s practice has worked on over 2,300 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transactions over the past two years. And as attention to the dire need for access to affordable housing skyrocketed during the pandemic, Blau provided counsel for thousands of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac transactions that amounted to nearly $30 billion in loans.

He offers a depth of knowledge in the many facets of low-income housing tax credits, tax exempt bonds, Section 8 and housing assistance payments contracts, including a variety of federal and state affordable housing and community development programs. He also has significant experience representing public housing authorities, governmental authorities, and working with both for-profit and non-profit borrowers and developers in commercial real estate transactions.

Blau is a member of the esteemed Freddie Mac Multifamily Legal Advisory Council and works closely with Freddie Mac’s legal division and other Council members to provide insight and guidance on developing legal trends in the multifamily housing and debt markets.

At Cassin, Blau is a member of Cassin’s Executive Committee and has chaired the firm’s Agency Lending and Affordable housing practices for the last five years.

Prior to joining Cassin, Evan served as in-house counsel for the New York City Housing Authority. He is an active member of several industry organizations including the National Multifamily Housing Council, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association of New York, Young Mortgage Bankers Association and New York State Association for Affordable Housing.

These are some of the reasons why we are honoring Evan Blau with Connect CRE’s 2022 New York Lawyers in Real Estate Award. The award celebrates real estate attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their practice and the larger community.