The American Council of Engineering Companies of New York recently handed out their Diamond awards to New York State consulting engineering firms for outstanding design, research and studies projects in ten categories. Photo courtesy of Severud Associated Consulting Engineers, P.C. The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park in New York City is just one of the projects that received a Diamond award from the ACEC. Winners included: Water and Wastewater Hudson River PCBs-Potable Water Supplies, communities of Troy, Waterford, Halfmoon and Stillwater, Saratoga and Rensselaer Counties. Engineers: AECOM Perchlorate Well No. BGD-1, Bethpage, N.Y. Engineers: Holzmacher, McLendon &

The ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York raised $140,000 towards 67 scholarship awards for graduates of the 2009-2010 program at its 15th annual luncheon. An additional $63,000 came from other sources including the Manhattan College-Dr. Charles H. Thornton Award in the amount of $56,000 and the Contractors Association of Greater New York-John A. Cavanagh Award in the amount of $6,000 which requires a separate application but is still designated exclusively to ACE students. Photo courtesy of Ace Mentor Program of Greater New York Pictured from left: Scholarship recipients, Hector Santacruz, Olivia Sell, Bonnie Tran, Denise Lleshi; Denise Berger, AIA;

EMCOR Group chairman and CEO Frank MacInnis says he will retire after 16 years at the helm of one of the United States’ largest mechanical and electrical subcontractors. MACINNIS Under the leadership of the 63-year-old MacInnis, EMCOR, which has several times been listed as the Number One Specialty Contractor in New York Construction’s annual Top Contractor rankings, has grown from a group of specialty contracting subsidiary companies with revenue in 1994 of $1.8 billion to a Fortune 500 firm with 2009 revenues of over $5.5 billion. MacInnis is expected to continue serving as non-executive Chairman of EMCOR’s Board of Directors

Construction on a new $60 million commercial bioscience center (BioBAT) at the Brooklyn Army Terminal in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is scheduled to begin later this year through a partnership between the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center. The 486,000-sq- ft BioBAt project is expected to create more than 1,000 permanent jobs. Rendering courtesy of NYCEDC BioBAT is being designed by HOK of St. Louis, Mo. with construction on the first 56,000 sq ft of space scheduled to begin this year and completion expected in 2011. Upon completion of build-out, BioBAT

The re-development of the Brooklyn Navy Yard is receiving a boost from a federal program designed to raise capital for economic development projects in high unemployment areas. The New York City Regional Center has so far raised $60 million in an investment that will create 1,200 new jobs at the city-owned industrial park from 120 investors from China, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina seeking to secure U.S. residency. The loan will allow the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Company to proceed with the $30 million Green Manufacturing Center, a 220,000-sq-ft, LEED Silver certified building. Construction will begin in June and is

Two men accused of defrauding the New York City Department of Buildings through bribes and falsifying crane inspection documents pleaded guilty to all charges this week. Michael Sackaris, of Saint James, N.Y. pleaded guilty to charges of bribery and Michael Pascalli, of Bethpage, N.Y. pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of offering false installment for filing, in connection with the bribing of the DOB’s chief crane inspector, James Delayo. “Taking bribes in situations where safety is at risk in unacceptable, as is corruption at any level of government,” said District Attorney Vance. According to court documents, Sackaris, 50, was the

In an effort to stimulate the construction industry and create work opportunities for local contractors and construction workers, some of New Jersey’s construction unions along with their managerial bargaining partners have agreed to a freeze in wage and benefit packages. Members of the statewide associations of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and the Laborer’s International Union of North America, along with Ironworkers Local 68, 350 & 399, and Dockbuilders Local 1456 have re-opened their respective contracts in order to help lower labor costs and kick-start building construction statewide. The unions, which represent

The Department of Buildings, New York City Service, Con Edison and the City University of New York have launched the NYC Cool Roofs Program, a citywide program to help reduce cooling costs, energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions by applying reflective, white coating to rooftops. The program is a partnership between public and private organizations, non-profit groups and building owners and is a component of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s PlaNYC initiative, the city’s comprehensive sustainability plan reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent by 2030. NYC Cool Roofs is designed to cool one million sq ft of rooftop. In 2009, Mayor Bloomberg

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is looking to the private sector to finance the construction of a replacement for the Goethals Bridge, which connects Staten Island to New Jersey. The estimated $1 billion project would be paid for, according to PANYNJ Executive Director Chris Ward, by a private investor or group which would then lease the bridge to the Port Authority. “If the market can’t provide us with a low cost option, then the market will have shown that it can’t respond, right now, to this kind of arrangement,” Ward said. “But we think there is

Turner Construction Company, in partnership with the York College School of Business and the Small Business Development Center has developed the first undergraduate accredited construction management program called the Construction Management Academy based on the company’s original training program curriculum. The Construction Management Academy will be lead by Turner staff and York college professors and will be available to students enrolled at York College or individuals currently working in the building industry. Course offerings will begin on June 1 at the York College School of Business in Queens, New York. The curriculum includes courses on estimating, building information modeling (BIM),