Four New York State trade associations representing heavy construction contractors are suing the state over Gov. David Paterson�s announcement in March that the New York Dept. of Transportation would halt payments on all statewide capital construction projects not funded through federal stimulus dollars. NYSDOT photo As many as 500 bridge and highway projects in New York State are being affected by Gov. David Paterson�s decision to halt payments on all non-stimulus funded projects. The suit, filed on April 16 in state Supreme Court, alleges that the state has violated construction contracts with hundreds of contractors working highway and bridge jobs

NYBC Holds Industry Recognition Dinner  April 2010 Approximately 900 members of the building community gathered to pay tribute to four industry greats during the New York Building Congress 2009 Industry Recognition Dinner at the Grand Hyatt New York last November. EE Cruz & Company CEO Edward Cruz and Boston Properties Senior Vice President/New York Region Manager Robert E. Selsam were presented with Industry Recognition Awards. F.J. Sciame Construction Company Chairman and CEO Frank J. Sciame received the George A. Fox Public Service Award, and Special Recognition for Public Service was given to New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

Image courtesy of West 8 Construction on New York City�s ambitious redevelopment of Governors Island is expected to begin in 2012. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Monday announced an agreement that gives the city long-term planning and development control of Governor’s Island, a 172-acre chunk of largely undeveloped real estate in New York Harbor. The announcement of the agreement preceded the mayor’s unveiling of a sweeping redevelopment plan for the one-time military base that includes the creation of a new, 87-acre public park and a waterfront promenade and public space. The city also has plans to build a

Construction on the first two phases of the five-phase, multi-use Hindu American Religious Center located on 33-acres in Robbinsville, N.J. is currently under way. The center broke ground in September 2010 and upon its completion in 2016, it will total 262,000 sq ft. Rendering: BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha The first two phases of the project include a main atrium building that will enclose a 9,000-sq-ft, 36-ft high Hindu prayer building known as a Mandir designed by PS&S of Warren, N.J. who are also acting as engineers on the project, in collaboration with local and India based artisans. Hand-carved stone for the

A $266 million project to remediate the Brookfield Avenue Landfill in Staten Island has broken ground. The project which will transform the contaminated site into a 132-acre park is being funded with $166 million in city funding and $100 million in funding from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The Brookfield site was operated by the Department of Sanitation from 1966 to 1980 accepting 1,000 tons of solid waste per day. In the 1970s, the NYS DEC determined that liquid and hazardous wastes were illegally dumped at the landfill and in 1986, it was classified as a Class

Rochester, NY-based LeChase Construction Services announced that it has acquired Northeast Construction Services of Syracuse, New York. The firm has more than $400 million in work projected for New York State this year. The new logo courtesy of LeChase Construction Services The new company’s Syracuse office will be called “Northeast, a LeChase company” and will work primarily the education, healthcare, process industrial, science and technology and commercial markets. Northeast, founded in 1982 currently employs 55 people and all employees will remain with the company and continue to operate with the same management team in place. Richard Schneider will serve as

HEATHER MARTIN Getting the job is critical. But the contract, payment and invoice terms are equally as important. For example, retainage of five percent instead of ten percent can make a huge difference for your cash flow and profitability. So what do you need to know before, during and after you negotiate the deal? Prior to being awarded the contract, you should have double-checked your numbers, quantities and assumptions about the job, and then you negotiated a price with your client. But once you receive the contract, you should be careful to check that everything is accurate and that all

Featured Product   04/01/2010 E-42 Compact Excavator One of the latest additions to the Bobcat M-Series of excavators, the E-42 Compact Excavator is a conventional tail swing unit with an operating weight of 9,246 lbs. It is powered by a 41.8-hp liquid-cooled diesel engine and features redesigned hydraulics with a load-sensing pump and a closed center-valve system for improved control during travel and operation. The standard arm has a maximum reach of 207 in., with a maximum dig depth of 126 in. The E-42 has an auto-idle function, which if activated by the operator, automatically idles the engine if the excavator

Construction is underway on a $41 million project at Newtown High School in Newtown, Connecticut, designed by project architect, Fletcher Thompson Associates of Shelton, Connecticut and lead by construction manager, The Morganti Group, Inc. of Danbury, Connecticut. Photo: Gaffney Bennett Public Relations The project consists of a 70,000-sq-ft addition to the new gymnasium and 15,000 sq ft of interior renovation and is slated for completion in January 2011. Originally built in 1970 and expanded in 1997 to accommodate a growing student population, Newtown High School required even further expansion in 2007. As a result, a 73,000-sq-ft addition to the existing

We’re nothing if not creatures of habit and routine. Just as I know that every September begins the judging process for that year’s Best Of awards, February and early March mean gathering data for our annual Top Contractors rankings. It’s not as difficult as it sounds: we simply leave it to you guys to get us as much information to us as you can. We begin sending out the surveys in the early part of the year, setting a deadline for the last week, or so, of February. The surveys ask each firm to break down the amount of revenue