It's been a crazy year and a half, but COVID-19 didn't completely halt the construction industry. Instead, many notable projects were completed during the first year of the pandemic.

This year, we're pleased to announce that more than two dozen projects won 33 categorical awards. The honors include the region's first-ever Excellence in Sustainability awards. Additionally, all three Finalists for Project of the Year will be announced next week — with the ultimate winner of that prize to be revealed in the Nov. 15, 2021, edition of ENR New York.

Also scheduled for Nov. 15 is ENR New York's annual Best Projects Awards breakfast ceremony, to be held at The Lighthouse at Pier 61 in Manhattan. For more information, click here.

Before unveiling this year's categorical winners, I'd like to thank our judges who determined our honorees. Theirs was an unenviable task: looking at contestants' extensive applications and scoring them on a variety of criteria. In alphabetical order by first name, ENR New York's Best Projects jurists are:

  • Abby Ferri, Senior Risk Control Consultant, Gallagher
  • Bob Schimmenti, retired Senior Vice President of Electric Operations, ConEdison
  • Edgar Westerhof, National Director for Flood Risk and Resilience and Associate Vice President, Arcadis
  • Illya Azaroff, Founder, +Lab for experimentation; Associate Professor, NYC College of Technology
  • Magued Iskander, Civil and Urban Engineering Dept. Chair, NYU Tandon School of Engineering
  • Samantha Brummell, Senior Project Engineer, Thornton Tomasetti, and a member of the 2019 cohort of ENR New York’s Top Young Professionals
  • Stephen Mellett, President and Owner, Vericon Construction Co., whose firm was named ENR New York’s 2020 Contractor of the Year

And now, I present the Best Project and Award of Merit winners of ENR New York's 2021 contest!

AIRPORT/TRANSIT
Best: Moynihan Train Hall, submitted by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and WSP USA Inc.

GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC BUILDING
Best: Dr. Martin Luther King Justice Building, submitted by Dobco Inc.

HEALTH CARE
Best: Vassar Brothers Medical Center Patient Pavilion, submitted by Walsh Construction Company
Merit: North Central Bronx Hospital ICU Project, submitted by Skanska USA Building Inc.
Merit: NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital Center for Community Health, submitted by Lendlease (US) Construction LMB Inc.

HIGHER EDUCATION/RESEARCH
Best: National Veterans Resource Center at Syracuse University, submitted by LeChase Construction Services LLC
Merit: Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Global Cybersecurity Institute, submitted by LaBella Associates

HIGHWAY/BRIDGE
Best: Brooklyn Bridge Park Corporation Squibb Bridge, submitted by Turner Construction Company

INTERIOR/TENANT IMPROVEMENT
Best: Confidential Client, submitted by Clune Construction
Merit: Irving Plaza, submitted by EwingCole

K-12 EDUCATION
Best: Brearley School, submitted by EW Howell Co. LLC

LANDSCAPE/URBAN DEVELOPMENT
Best: Little Island, submitted by Arup
Merit: Shirley Chisholm State Park, submitted by WSP USA Inc.

OFFICE/RETAIL/MIXED-USE
Best: One Vanderbilt, submitted by Jaros, Baum & Bolles

RENOVATION/RESTORATION
Best: The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights, submitted by Wilk Marketing Communications
Merit: Trinity Church, submitted by Sciame Construction
Merit: Grant Barracks Renovation and Modernization, submitted by Kokolakis Contracting

RESIDENTIAL/HOSPITALITY
Best: Brooklyn Point, submitted by Lendlease (US) Construction LMB Inc.
Best: Hilton Garden Inn, submitted by INTECH Construction LLC
Merit: Greenpoint Landing–Site D, submitted by DeSimone Consulting Engineers
Merit: 99 Hudson, submitted by Plaza Construction

SMALL PROJECT (LESS THAN $10 MILLION)
Best: Empire Trail Pedestrian Box Tunnel Beneath Active Railroad Lines, submitted by Brierley Associates Underground Engineers PLCC
Merit: River Road Bridge over Raritan Valley Railroad, Emergency Bridge Replacement, submitted by WSP USA Inc.    

SPECIALTY CONSTRUCTION
Best: City of Troy Seawall Stabilization, CHA Consulting Inc.
Merit: 66 Hudson Boulevard, submitted by Universal Builders Supply

SPORTS/ENTERTAINMENT
Best: Syracuse University Carrier Dome Roof Replacement, submitted by The Hayner Hoyt Corporation

WATER/ENVIRONMENT
Best: Replacement of the Existing Water Siphons Between Brooklyn and Staten Island, submitted by WSP USA Inc./LiRO A Joint Venture

EXCELLENCE IN SAFETY
Best: The Watermark at Brooklyn Heights, submitted by Wilk Marketing Communications
Merit: Empire Trail Pedestrian Box Tunnel Beneath Active Railroad Lines, submitted by Brierley Associates Underground Engineers PLCC
Merit: Vassar Brothers Medical Center Patient Pavilion, submitted by Walsh Construction Company

EXCELLENCE IN SUSTAINABILITY
Best: Vassar Brothers Medical Center Patient Pavilion, submitted by Walsh Construction Company
Merit: Moynihan Train Hall, submitted by Skidmore Owings & Merrill
Merit: One Vanderbilt, submitted by Jaros, Baum & Bolles