Dominic Cordisco is an environmental attorney and artist.
As a partner at Drake Loeb PLLC, Dominic specializes in land use law, seeking to balance economic growth with sustainability. His work has focused on bringing transformative projects to life in the Hudson Valley. Dominic’s clients include LEGOLAND New York and the Angry Orchard Cider House. He has long-standing relationships with his municipal clients, which he has represented for over twenty years.
Dominic’s pursuits extend beyond his law practice. His TEDx talk on the challenges of factual online discourse has engaged with thousands. Dominic’s short film Light on Water earned accolades for its meditative visuals and won Best Original Score at six film festivals.
Dominic’s photography has been published in Maine Magazine, and his musical releases continue to resonate.
ENVIRONMENTAL & LAND USE ATTORNEY
Before joining his partners at Drake Loeb PLLC, Dominic was the Regional Attorney for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation - Region 3, providing legal services for the agency in areas such as the State Environmental Quality Review Act, wetlands regulation, storm water control, and municipal water and wastewater regulation and enforcement. This strong background in environmental matters proved invaluable upon his entry into private practice, where he works with a diverse client base consisting of municipalities and private clients on projects involving land use, development, environmental law, and municipal law issues.
His knowledge and experience make him a sought-after lecturer on specialized topics within his practice including SEQRA, wetlands regulation, endangered species, mining, underground storage and oil spills. He has regularly presented before the New York Association of Towns, the New York State Bar Association, the New York Planning Federation and the Orange County Municipal Planning Federation.
As Chairman of the Orange County Water Authority, a Director of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Agency and the Regional Economic Community Action Plan, a Member-at-Large of the Energy and Environmental Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, Dominic is at the forefront of the issues affecting his clients.
In 2013 he received the Henry Award for Valley Visionaries from Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. In 2012, the Orange County Partnership honored Dominic with its MVP Most Valued Partner award, and he also received the Archibald R. Murray Award for Public Service from Fordham Law School.
Community Involvement
Chairman, Board of Directors, Orange County Water Authority
Co-Founder, Cornwall on Hudson Special Events Committee & Movies on the Hudson
Director, Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation
Director, Regional Economic Community Action Program, Inc. (RECAP)
Chairman, Cornerstone Family Healthcare Foundation Board
Member, Cornwall on Hudson Donahue Committee
Member, Cornwall on Hudson Comprehensive Plan Committee
Member, Town of Rockport, Maine Comprehensive Plan Committee
Member, Town of Rockport, Maine Economic Development Committee
PHOTOGRAPHY
MUSIC
I have been privileged to make music with Rich Johnson, my incredibly talented, kind friend.
As another friend said about him, “that dude never hits a bad note.”
Mastered by Joe Kelly at Suburban Elvis Recording
The Infinity Machine
In 1975, Brian Eno programmed a sequence of notes into a synthesizer. The notes were then sent through an echo unit into two tape decks that were set up with a long tape loop. This created an extended delay of repeating notes that would create music on its own once the system was set in motion.
Eno’s recording of a portion of that system became Side One of his album “Discreet Music.”
Eno’s use of tape loops to create generative music built on the work of Steve Reich, Terry Riley and others. One aspect of these works is that what is captured is merely a moment in time of the system; if time allowed, the recording could have continued, and the sequence of notes would continue to unfold and juxtapose, perhaps in interesting new ways that were never captured.
I have long wished to hear more of these works – but all we have are the recordings that exist. At some point, the system was turned off, the memory and tapes erased. But what if they had continued to run? To that end, I decided to create a system for generative music using a Telecaster and effects pedals. Once the system is set in motion, with only a few notes, they repeat and evolve, ebb and flow, and cascade and oscillate with little to no further input from me.
I call this the Infinity Machine.
Operational diagram for the Infinity Machine.
The black line indicates the signal path.
FILM
Light on Water
“Following a series of abstract seascape photos, I made this short film to capture the natural world in an abstract way, and to combine moving images with ambient generative music. Light on Water is a capture of a moment and place in time as I floated in my kayak in the Atlantic near Rockport, Maine.
For the soundtrack, inspired by Brian Eno's work with tape loops, I made a system for generative music using only my Telecaster and effects pedals. Once the system is set in motion with only a few notes, they repeat and evolve, ebb and flow, and cascade and oscillate with little to no further input. Like the moment captured in the video, the music is ephemeral; the loops used to create the soundtrack were erased after recording. They cannot be recreated the same way again.”
Joe Kelly at Suburban Elvis Recording mastered the soundtrack.
Light on Water had its world premiere in 2021 at the Water Docs Film Festival in Toronto.
It was an official selection at twelve film festivals, and won Best Original Score at six of them.
Slow Movement
COH Playground Project
Big Surprise
Cerulean Blue
To Us All
Harbors & Islands
A Confident Memory
COHES Lion King Jr.
TEDxNEWBURGH
The line between fact and opinion blurs with the increasing use of social media to spread deliberate misinformation and opinions that masquerade as fact.
Fake news is not just a national or global problem — it disrupts public opinion and civil discourse on our local, everyday level.
In 2018, Dominic spoke at the first TEDxNewburgh forum about how fake news affects us all.
Watch on Youtube.
