A grand jury last week indicted New York City’s carpenters union chief and nine other members and contractors following a sweeping investigation that resulted in allegations of fraud, racketeering and accepting bribes. Michael Forde, executive secretary-treasurer of the district council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and other key union officials are accused of helping individual contractors – which are not named in the 29-count indictment –  steal “millions of dollars” from union benefit funds by allowing them to pay union member cash below union rates without benefits, employ undocumented and non-union workers and forgo contributions to the

CAGNY Celebrates 25 Years  July 2009 The Contractors’ Association of Greater New York (CAGNY) recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with an annual meeting dinner for its member companies and their employees at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in Manhattan. From left: Edward J. Malloy, retiring president of the Building & Construction Trades Council and Raymond G. McGuire, Managing Director of CAGNY. Photo courtesy of The Berman Group, Inc. Students from the Bronx recently participated in ACE Team #17, part of the Architecture, Construction, Engineering Mentor Program, a program that relies on mentors and professionals from leading design and construction

Skanska has been awarded a $134 million contract to construct a hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey that will replace the 112-year-old Mercer Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey for its customer, Capital Health. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island Pier Elementary School Breaks Ground in Waterbury, Conn. Developer of TechCity Releases Green Master Plan NYC DOB Launches Online Permit Program NYC Seeks Firm to Lease and Operate Portion of Manhattan’s East River Waterfront DIA/WRKS Designs Administrative Offices for NYIT Skanska is responsible for both

The owner of a former upstate industrial complex recently released a green master plan for the redevelopment of TechCity – once an IBM manufacturing and business campus. Photo: courtesy of Linden Alschuler & Kaplan, Inc. The TechCity Master Plan will transform the 260-acre, 2.5 million-sq-ft former IBM manufacturing and business campus made up of 27 low-rise buildings into a 21st Century sustainable development. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island Pier Skanksa to Build New Hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey for $134 Million Elementary

The New York City Economic Development Corporation has announced two separate Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for firms to provide construction management and design services for the Willets Point Offsite Infrastructure Project; a $150 million project that will connect the 62-acre development site to existing transportation, water and sewage facilities helping to link Willets Point to its surrounding neighborhoods such as Flushing and Corona. Photo: Courtesy of Method Media LLC Construction of the pile restoration is scheduled to be completed by this summer but the pier will remain open to the public throughout because construction is taking place underwater. Related Links:

New York-based architects DIA/WRKS, have been chosen to design the administrative offices of New York Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture and Design. “DIA/WRKS was perfect for this project because of their fl air for design and ability to maximize space and natural light while simultaneously reflecting my streamlined, contemporary and eccentric sensibilities,” said Judith DiMaio, dean of NYIT’s architecture and design department. Expanding by 1,000 ft, the 2,500-sq-ft dean’s office is slated for completion this fall. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island

The Gilmartin Elementary School Project in Waterbury, Connecticut recently broke ground with The Morganti Group, which also handled pre-construction, as construction manager. Rendering by Gaffney Bennett Public Relations The new 76,000 sq ft Gilmartin Elementary School is scheduled to be completed by July 2010. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island Pier Skanksa to Build New Hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey for $134 Million Developer of TechCity Releases Green Master Plan NYC DOB Launches Online Permit Program NYC Seeks Firm to Lease and Operate

Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri recently announced the launch of eSubmit, a new program that allows building permit applicants to electronically submit certain documents from their home or office in order to cut the wait time. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island Pier Skanksa to Build New Hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey for $134 Million Elementary School Breaks Ground in Waterbury, Conn. Developer of TechCity Releases Green Master Plan NYC Seeks Firm to Lease and Operate Portion of Manhattan’s East River Waterfront DIA/WRKS Designs

New York City Economic Development Corporation is putting out feelers in an attempt to find a firm to lease and operate the Maiden Lane South Pavilion in Lower Manhattan. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts City to Rehab Aging Staten Island Pier Skanksa to Build New Hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey for $134 Million Elementary School Breaks Ground in Waterbury, Conn. Developer of TechCity Releases Green Master Plan NYC DOB Launches Online Permit Program DIA/WRKS Designs Administrative Offices for NYIT The Maiden Lane South Pavilion will be the first

As part of their recent redevelopment of the Staten Island Ferry Terminals, New York City Economic Development Corporation recently decided that Staten Island’s 60+-year-old Saint George Fishing Pier required below deck timber pile rehabilitation/encasement due to years of extreme erosion. Related Links: 2009 Residential Permits Fall at “Alarming” Rate NYCEDC Issues RFQs for First Willets Point Contracts Skanksa to Build New Hospital in Hopewell, New Jersey for $134 Million Elementary School Breaks Ground in Waterbury, Conn. Developer of TechCity Releases Green Master Plan NYC DOB Launches Online Permit Program NYC Seeks Firm to Lease and Operate Portion of Manhattan’s East