Boundary and Topographic Surveys That Define Where You Can Build
Yanky Braunstein of Clearpoint Services
A developer finds 100 acres for sale. The listing says it’s buildable. But how much of it actually is? Where do the property lines fall… and what’s the slope? Without those answers, that acreage is just a guess wrapped in assumptions.
Clearpoint Services provides that clarity. The New Jersey–based company has spent nearly two decades surveying land across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — measuring boundaries, mapping terrain, and locating utilities, so developers, architects, and homeowners know exactly what they’re working with.
Yanky Braunstein started the company nearly twenty years ago, entering the field during the real estate boom. He learned the trade working for a surveyor in Pennsylvania… even if his first boss wasn’t convinced. “He tells me, ‘You can’t be a surveyor,’” Braunstein recalled. “‘Your beard’s gonna get stuck in the bushes.’” Twenty years later, he’s still in the field — beard and all.
Today, Clearpoint employs over 30 people handling projects of all sizes. Boundary surveys sound simple — mark the corners, confirm the size, move on. But older properties rarely make it easy. Markers may have been destroyed or never set, and deeds can overlap when old subdivisions don’t add up. Clearpoints’ surveyors often retrace boundaries across surrounding blocks to locate the original monuments. “People think a survey is just marking four corners,” Braunstein said. “You’re missing a lot.”
Topographic surveys measure slope… and that information shapes every design decision. In flat areas like Lakewood, developers need to create a slope so stormwater drains. In hillier regions, slopes must be managed so water doesn’t rush downhill too fast. “You can buy 500 acres,” Braunstein said, “but if your slope is so bad, you can’t build it.”
Much of Clearpoint’s surveying now happens from the air. The company flies drones with laser scanners that capture terrain with centimeter-level accuracy. That precision recently saved a developer millions. A contractor estimated removing 300,000 cubic yards of soil. Clearpoint’s aerial survey showed the real number: only 87,000.
Clearpoint has exhibited at OJBA since the first show. Braunstein says he has never left without new projects. For him, it isn’t about competing… it’s about doing the job right. “I do the best job possible. I take care of my customers,” he said.
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