The New York City Planning Commission has approved a modified version of New York University’s Washington Square expansion plan. The university’s 2031 Core Campus plan, which was approved on June 6, calls for four new buildings and about 4 acres of public parks and publicly accessible open spaces. Public hearings and a city council vote on the plan are expected this summer. The modified plan includes reductions in the heights of the Mercer and Bleecker buildings; requires setbacks for the bulkheads on the Mercer and LaGuardia buildings; and denies the university’s request to use a proposed 26-story "zipper" building as

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. Photo Courtesy of Mary Servatius Tall Order? If the plan were approved, the hefty tolls over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge would be cut by $5 each way.  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 truckers—transition to city streets to get to the free bridges.

Parsons Brinckerhoff, New York, has named John Annoni a senior supervising construction engineer. His projects include construction of the new 72nd Street station for the Second Avenue Subway in New York City. Parsons Brinckerhoff is serving as construction manager on the project. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York People Parsons Brinckerhoff has also hired Mark Mulvey as senior principal technical specialist. In his new position, Mulvey will analyze terminal operations, operating plans and fleet utilization with the firm's Transit & Rail Technical Excellence Center.The New York Building Congress' 2012 executive committee includes: Lynne P. Brown, New York University;

New York Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured News Bottlenecks in New York state's power system cost consumers $1.1 billion in 2010, according to a study by an electric utility group that is pushing for transmission line upgrades or replacement.About 41% of the state's 11,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines are so old that they will need to be replaced during the next 30 years at a cost of more than $25 billion, according to the State Transmission Assessment and Reliability Study (STARS), which also outlines several possible fixes to the system. The second phase of a

A 28-year-old construction worker fell about three stories to his death May 17th from scaffolding on an apartment building in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The worker, identified as Adrien Zamora, appears to have been doing facade restoration work “when he lost his footing and fell” from the scaffolding installed at 450 Broome St., says a spokeswoman at the Dept. of Buildings, which is investigating the incident along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It was the worker’s first day on the job. “The site had all the necessary permits,” the DOB spokeswoman says. The agency has had two complaints

The Dept. of Buildings has issued stop work orders at a Manhattan apartment building where a construction worker fell to his death and has cited the general contractor for violations. The worker, identified as Adrien Zamora, apparently lost his footing and fell from scaffolding while doing façade work at 450 Broome St. in SoHo on May 17th, DOB says. The violations issued May 18th to the GC, Brasal Construction Corp., New York, include “failure to protect all persons and parties affected by construction operations” and “building the scaffolding contrary to approved plans,” a DOB spokeswoman says. She did not supply

Legislation that gives the Conn. Dept. of Transportation the option of using design-build (DB) as an alternative project delivery method and allows municipalities the option of using project labor agreements (PLAs) on public projects currently awaits Gov. Dannel Malloy's signature to become law. An aide in the governor's office says that he will sign the bill, which passed the House and Senate earlier this month, when it reaches his desk. The governor has already voiced support for the DB legislation, which he says puts Connecticut "in a better position to get federal money for critically important investments in our state's

The Connecticut Laborers’ District Council says it has begun a campaign against the owner-developer of a $3.5-billion, mixed-use project in Stamford, Conn., for hiring an out-of-state subcontractor. Owner-developer Building and Land Technology (BLT) Inc., which has hired subcontractor Baker Concrete, Monroe, Ohio, to work on its 6-million-sq-ft Harbor Point project, did not return calls for comment by press time. The union began to picket the site on May 15 and plans to “continue on a weekly basis’ until BLT co-owners Carl and Paul Kuehner “start hiring Connecticut companies and Connecticut workers on this project,” says Charles LeConche, business manager of

At a recent panel discussion geared toward women, most of the attendees under 35 years old raised their hands when they specifically were asked if they feel they have the same opportunities in industry as men. The enthusiastic response led one panelist to say, “the game is changing,” but not long afterward an audience member expressed frustration over management not viewing her as equal to the men she works with. That led some audience members to nod their heads in agreement, with one quietly saying “there’s still a glass ceiling.” Photo by Joanna Dela Rosa One way to handle an

National Bike to School Week runs from May 7 to may 11 and New York State Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald announced that applications are available for $23.9 million in federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) funding for infrastructure improvements and public education campaigns across the state. McDonaldProjects located within two miles of a primary or middle school are eligible to participate in the program. Projects must also be located on municipal right-of-way, benefit the public and address one of the five SRTS categories. They include engineering or infrastructure efforts, education, enforcement, encouragement and evaluation of program impact.About 70-90% of funding