New York City, State Officials Talk Up Infrastructure PlansNew York City's infrastructure got a lot of attention in the last month on both the local and state fronts, starting with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's (D) state-of-the-state address. Cuomo's $132.5-billion budget plan calls for the state to invest $1.3 billion to spur $25 billion in investments from other sources for major infrastructure projects and job growth. He also mentioned creating a fund to support projects that would improve or replace more than 100 bridges, including the Tappan Zee.In his state-of-the-city speech, Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) mentioned a slew of construction projects planned

A federal court has denied the American Automobile Association’s request to immediately roll back the controversial Hudson River crossings toll hikes that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey put into effect last September. The Feb. 6 decision by Judge Richard J. Holwell of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan is part of a lawsuit that AAA’s Automobile Club of New York filed against the Port Authority in September charging that the agency uses toll revenues to pay for non-transportation projects including the World Trade Center redevelopment. The suit is ongoing. The Port Authority says the lawsuit is

New York City’s adoption of new green building codes are expected to result in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 5% and saving $400 million by 2030, says a recently released report from the Urban Green Council, the U.S. Green Building Council’s New York chapter. The codes are also expected to divert 100,000 tons of asphalt from landfills each year; reduce greenhouse gas emissions citywide by 5%; and lower the costs of lighting energy by 10%. The city has so far enacted 29 of 111 recommendations made by a task force established two years ago to detail steps the city should

New York City construction accidents dropped 18% last year to 128 and injuries fell 7.8% to 152, continuing a three-year downward trend in both categories, according to data from the NYC Dept. of Buildings. However, there were five construction-related fatalities in 2011, up one from the prior year. The most common construction accident is workers falling, but the five fatalities last year were the result of improper procedures on the job, such as a lack of fall-protection and improper construction practices, DOB says.Meanwhile, the issuance of construction permits grew 7.7% to 86,895 last year, the third consecutive year in which

As components of the World Trade Center project near completion beginning in 2013, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will realize a “peace dividend, just as our nation did when our troops left Vietnam in the 1970s,” says Patrick J. Foye, PANYNJ executive director. After paying about $7 billion of debt incurred to fund WTC construction, the will dividend will allow the agency to return to its core mission of transportation infrastructure and economic development, he says. Photo by Bob Wallace “While it’s early, my own preliminary conclusion having been at the authority for just shy of

The financial industry in the not-so-distant past drove much of the real estate development in New York City but the information technology and media industries are becoming more active players, said Adam B. Frazier, development manager at Boston Properties. On the tech front, Facebook and Google have each announced NYC expansion plans and Twitter opened its first office in the city last fall. Publishing giant Conde Naste, the anchor tenant for 1 World Trade Center accounting for 1.05 million sq ft of space in the tower, will reportedly soon sign on for an additional 133,000 sq ft, according to a

New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo today unveiled a $132.5-billion budget plan that includes $1.3 billion in state investment aimed at spurring $25 billion in investments from other sources to launch or accelerate major infrastructure projects and create jobs. The governor's budget for fiscal year beginning April 1, 2012 would continue to support programs including the Environmental Protection Fund, which would be maintained at $134 million. The budget plan includes $102 million in new funding for the Department of Environmental Conservation to advance flood control, coastal erosion and critical dam safety projects, as well as $94 million for capital rehabilitation

PSEG Solar Source, a subsidiary of Newark, N.J.-based Public Service Electric and Gas Co. (PSE&G), is expanding its solar farm business with the purchase of a planned 25.2 MW solar project in Arizona for $75 million. Construction of the PSEG Queen Creek Solar Farm, to be developed by engineering procurement construction (EPC) contractor juwi solar Inc., Boulder, Colo., is expected to begin this month with completion slated in the third quarter. Photo Courtesy of PSEG Solar Source The farm at the Mars company, which makes candy including M&Ms, was PSEG Solar Source's first project. The PSEG Queen Creek Solar Farm

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey says it hit a $1-billion milestone today for direct contracts to minority- and women-owned firms for work on the World Trade Center during the last five years. The authority says it has awarded about 200 minority and women-owned businesses close to 500 WTC contracts, generating 2,417 construction, architectural and engineering jobs. Photo by Joe Woolhead The authority credits its staff from the World Trade Center Construction, Office of Business Diversity and Civil Rights and Procurement departments for ensuring that each WTC contract met its goal of minority and women-owned (M/WBE) enterprise

New York City's efforts to improve its educational system took the spotlight in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s State of the City address earlier today, but job creation and a slew of construction projects planned or under way were also mentioned. The mayor, who spoke at Morris High School in the Bronx, praised the city’s 2011 accomplishments and set a broad list of goals in several areas including plans to streamline the building inspection process. "We've already opened an online hub for reviewing and approving digital construction plans," Bloomberg said, referring to the Dept. of Buildings' recently launched NYC Development Hub. "Now,