O&G Industries, the Torrington, Conn.-based general contractor on a Connecticut powerplant project where a fatal blast occurred in February during a natural gas venting operation, says it plans to contest penalties levied against it Aug. 5 by the U.S. Labor Dept.’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Photo: AP Wideworld Plant construction The firm was among three construction companies and 14 subcontractors that OSHA cited for numerous alleged workplace safety violations related to the Feb. 7 blast at the 620-MW Kleen Energy LLC plant in Middletown that killed six workers and injured 50 others. OSHA has proposed $16.6 million in penalties

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized a $199 million project for structural steel repairs on the upper level of the George Washington Bridge. The Port Authority board is currently seeking bids for the project with work expected to begin in 2011.Natural degradation brought on by age, as well as increased truck traffic on the upper level after the 9/11 attacks has resulted in accelerated deterioration of the deck and framing components. Inspections as recent as 2009, have revealed several locations with varying degrees of corrosion and cracking, missing or loose structural steel connectors. In February 2010,

The Thornton Tomasetti Foundation, a nonprofit organization established by New York-based Thornton Tomasetti, a structural engineering firm has awarded a $9,000 grant to the California Polytechnic State University chapter of Engineers Without Borders for the construction of a $68,000 healthcare clinic in Camilo Ortega, Nicaragua. Cal Poly students will lead the design and construction of the new healthcare facility. Photo Courtesy of Engineers Without Borders The 1,500-sq-ft medical clinic will sit atop a 10-ft retaining wall on a very steep hill in the outskirts of the Nicaraguan capitol city of Managua. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" The Thornton Tomasetti

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. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" “We are quite pleased but we are not surprised. It’s consistent with how we did last year,” said Annika Smith,

As part of a $550 million capital improvement plan at the Empire State Building, renovation on the building’s observatory has begun with Aragon Construction of New York acting as General Contractor for the project, which began in late May. Along with JCJ Architecture of Hartford, Conn., Aragon is revamping the 86th floor observatory with completion scheduled for September 2010. Work on the Empire State Building’s observatory deck, part of a $550 million restoration of the iconic Manhattan building, was expected to be completed in September. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" Refurbishment of the 950-sq-ft observatory deck will include both

Industry Faces  August 1, 2010 The Salvadori Center, a not-for-profi t educational organization promoting math and science education through explorations of architecture and engineering, held their second annual cocktail benefi t at Atrium Shops & Cafes located at 601 Lexington in Midtown Manhattan, where Salvadori raised approximately $575,000 and the Founder�s Awards for Excellence was presented to leading professionals. Pictured from left: Anthony M. Carvette, President & COO, Structure Tone; Priscilla Hammer, President, Ascend Communications; Daniel R. Tishman, Chairman & CEO of Tishman Construction Corportation; and Howard J. Rubenstein, President, Rubenstein Associates. Patrick J. Mc Gowan of East Rutherford, New Jersey

Despite a recession that has deeply affected the bottom lines of even the country’s strongest construction firms, specialty contracting giant EMCOR Group, Norwalk, Conn., still managed a monster year in 2009, reporting $5.5 billion in worldwide revenue and nearly $700 million in the New York region. But as the EMCOR plots its way forward in a still-uncertain market, they’ll be doing it without its CEO Frank MacInnis, who announced earlier this year that he will retire at the beginning of 2011 after a successful 16-year run that saw the company grow by nearly $4 billion. Replacing MacInnis will be Tony

GOLDBERG For those of you familiar with performing school district work in New York State, you are probably already aware that in order to preserve your right to commence a lawsuit against such an entity, you must first submit a verified Notice of Claim within three months after the accrual of your claim. What you probably do not know is how strictly the courts have interpreted and applied this Notice of Claim requirement. New York State’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, has held that Educational Law � 3813 requires the filing of a new Notice of Claim every three

The re-development of the Brooklyn Navy Yard has received a boost from a federal program designed to raise capital for economic development projects in high unemployment areas. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" 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

The second major eminent domain decision in 13 months for the New York State Court of Appeals has Columbia University poised to move ahead on a $6.3 billion expansion in the Manhattanville neighborhood of Harlem. Columbia University can move forward with its $6.3 billion expansion following a court ruling allowing it to seize the property it needs in Harlem’s Manhattanville neighborhood through eminent domain. div id="articleExtrasA" div id="articleExtrasB" div id="articleExtras" In a unanimous decision, the state’s highest court overturned an earlier ruling that prevented the state from seizing by eminent domain a small amount of property currently home to private