New office construction in Manhattan’s central business district will reach 2.1million sq ft in six buildings by year-end, up from 1.8 million sq ft in seven buildings this time last year, according to a recent New York Building Congress report about ongoing and planned projects in Manhattan. Photo Courtesy of Lend Lease Extell Development Company and Lend Lease celebrate the topping out of One57 on June 20. From left: Anthony Mannarino, executive vice president, Extell Development Company, New York; Nick Grecco, senior vice president, Lend Lease Construction; Charlie Loskant, senior vice president, Extell Development Company; Jeff Dvorett, vice president, Extell

The New York City Dept. of Buildings has named Timothy E. Hogan deputy commissioner of enforcement, replacing Eugene J. Corcoran. Hogan will oversee the DOB’s enforcement division, including all emergency and safety operations, complaint inspections and construction accident investigation. He will also oversee more than 120 attorneys, investigators and inspectors who focus on investigating violations of NYC construction codes and zoning resolution, DOB says.Hogan will also oversee DOB’s Office of Internal Audits and Discipline; work closely with the city’s Dept. of Investigation (DOI); and assist DOI with the Buildings Special Investigations Unit, which investigates unethical business practices and unsafe construction

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded the New York-based joint venture team of Hill International, The LiRo Group, and HDR a $21.1 million expansion on its construction management contract on the No. 7 subway line extension project. Photo Courtesy of Skanska USA The new contract, awarded June 27, is for tunnel fit-out and terminal work. It follows the JV of Hill, LiRo, Lemley International, and HDR’s original contract for tunnel excavation work that was awarded in May 2007. The original contract work is expected to be completed by November 2013.The MTA’s $1.7-billion No. 7 line project will extend the

The Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined four New Jersey contractors a total of $463,350 for exposing workers to fall hazards. The fines follow a December 2011 OSHA inspection in which employees of the four firms working on the fourth floor of the 20-story Cast Iron Lofts project in Jersey City lacked fall protection or fall protection systems, OSHA says. The agency fined Jersey City-based owner White Diamonds Properties LLC $95,400 and masonry contractor Blade Contracting Inc. $11,550.Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based Altura Concrete Inc. and Nathil Corp., the concrete contractors for the foundation and superstructure of the

City and other officials are investigating why a crane's steel load hit and shattered windows on the 45th and 46th floors of 4 World Trade Center on June 27th. There were no injuries, said a spokesman at the FDNY, which received the call about the incident at 11:30 a.m. Tishman Construction, the CM on the 72-story tower, says it has suspended steel lifts pending the investigation, is inspecting the entire facade of the building and reviewing protocols for evaluating weather conditions. Photo by Joe Woolhead The tower recently held a topping out ceremony to mark completion of steel erection. "A

Mergers and acquisitions have heated up recently in the engineering sector. Recent deals include the merger of Clough, Harbour & Associates (CHA), Albany, N.Y., with RW Armstrong. Indianapolis, earlier this month. The combined $210-million firm has 1,250 employees, which CHA intends to expand to 2,000 by 2016. Terms of the merger were not disclosed.Under the deal, RW Armstrong has become a wholly owned subsidiary of CHA.RW Armstrong, which will retain its name, has 500 employees in 11 offices in the U.S. as well as offices in Azerbaijan, the Middle East, North Africa and the Pacific Rim.CHA, which has 30 offices

Parsons Brinckerhoff has named Greg Kelly to the newly created position of global chief operating officer. Clifford Eby succeeds Kelly as president of the firm's Americas transportation operating company. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York's Featured People Charles H. Thornton and Richard L. Tomasetti, founding principals of Thornton Tomasetti, New York, have received the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat's 2012 Fazlur R. Khan Lifetime Achievement Award for their collective contribution to the advancement of buildings.  GranWarren W. Gran, partner at GranKriegel Associates, New York, has announced that he will be launching a new firm by the

Yew York Photo by Mary Servatius Cheap Ride: Under the plan, tolls on the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge in the Rockaways would be cut by $2. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured News If New York City's East River bridges were on a Monopoly board, the Queensboro, Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges would be akin to landing on "Free Parking," because they are not tolled crossings.That is "just insane," says Samuel Schwartz, a former NYC deputy transportation commissioner also known as "Gridlock Sam." Since major highways lead to the East River's toll crossings, scores of drivers—including

The New York State Thruway Authority and 14 labor groups have given the nod to a project labor agreement (PLA) for the Tappan Zee bridge replacement project, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced on June 18. The PLA, which is expected to save taxpayers about $452 million and provide thousands of construction jobs, will be a required provision of the RFP for the new bridge project. The agreement is subject to final approval from the Federal Highway Administration and the Thruway Authority board of directors. Photo Courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority The plan includes employment opportunities for union members

The city of Perth Amboy, N.J., has agreed to spend $5.4 million to repair, upgrade and expand its combined sewer system and pay a $17,000 penalty as part of an EPA settlement for Clean Water Act violations. Under the agreement signed June 6 in federal court, the city must reduce the amount of sewage and other pollutants that flow out of 16 combined sewer points into the Raritan and Arthur Kill rivers. The consent decree is pending a 30-day public comment period and final court approval. Photo by Dr. Wansoo Im for IMRivers.org The city aims to reduce sewage and