Despite having $1.57 billion in federal stimulus money approved for New York City capital transportation – with $1 billion more likely to be approved – an analysis of project data provided by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council reveals that the majority of the approved funding has yet to be spent. Related Links: One World Trade Center Reaches Milestone 10 Indicted in Carpenter’s Union Corruption Investigation Brooklyn’s Tallest Building Tops Out Buildings Dept. Announces New Development Challenge Process Auxiliary Lane to be Built on Staten Island Expressway NYCEDC Seeks Industrial Development for Bronx Site CassaNY Rises on West 45th Street

The tallest building in Downtown Brooklyn recently made its official debut. Developer, The Clarett Group of New York City topped out construction on The Brooklyner located at 111 Lawrence Street. Rendering: Great Ink Communications The 51-story tower soars over 500 ft in Downtown Brooklyn and is constructed of cast-in-place concrete consisting of a combination window wall and metal panels on the eastern and western facades. Related Links: One World Trade Center Reaches Milestone 10 Indicted in Carpenter’s Union Corruption Investigation NYC Snags $1.5 Billion in Stimulus Funds for Transportation Buildings Dept. Announces New Development Challenge Process Auxiliary Lane to be

The captains of architecture and engineering practices across the New York region were already enduring hard times in the past year, and didn’t need reminders of how bad things were. But in June came news that one of the region’s most ambitious design efforts was retreating. Related Links: ‘Right-Sizing’ Design A Chance to Rethink the Practice Top Design Firms Forest City Ratner Cos. – developer for the $4.9 billion, 7-million-sq-ft, 17-building Atlantic Yards complex in Brooklyn, that was to be anchored by a transcendent sports arena design – announced it was no longer using “starchitect” Frank Gehry and his firm,

The legacy of a recession on the design world is seldom evident while firms struggle through it. But there is potential for big changes in the disciplines. “In downturns, in recessions, even in the Great Depression, different ways of doing things emerged, says Rick Bell, executive director of the American Institute of Architects New York City chapter. Related Links: Redrawn Landscape ‘Right-Sizing’ Design The downtime presented by lighter project rosters gives designers of all stripes time for “introspection” and a chance to “reexamine their process and look at ways to seriously improve the process of design and construction,” says Guy

The long-term impact of recessions is often most evident on projects altered by the economic realities. The most obvious example in the New York region this year was Forest City Ratner’s decision not to have Gehry Partners of Los Angeles as master architect of its massive $4.9 billion Atlantic Yards complex. In a statement about removing Gehry specifically from the complex’s signature sports arena, Bruce Ratner, CEO of the development firm, stated: “The current economic climate is not right for this design, and with Frank’s understanding, the arena is undergoing a redesign that will make it more limited in scope.”

The landscape architect on Brooklyn Bridge Park, which underwent 20 years of planning and advocacy before it started construction in 2007, is Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, a 20-year-old, Brooklyn-based firm with more 350 projects from Texas to Korea to their name. Brooklyn Bridge Park, when completed in 2012, will offer more than landscaped lawns and boardwalks as it is meant to bring the visitor closer to the water. The design incorporates floating walkways, tidal marshes, reconstruction of Piers 1-6 – each one about the size of Bryant Park – as well as children’s playgrounds, sport fields, including three sand volleyball

The University at Buffalo, a flagship institution of the State University of New York system, has embarked on a $360-million capital improvement program designed to prepare the school to serve more than 38,000 students by 2020. Photo: Cannon Design Cannon Design created the South Ellicott Housing building at the University at Buffalo’s South Campus. Related Links: Market Report: Upstate New York “We just finished a university master plan, which is part of President John Simpson’s vision for UB2020, which is to expand the university by approximately 10,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff,” says Kevin M. Thompson, director of facilities

The biggest technological advances for landscape architects have come from the integration of the pen and pencil with the computer. Graphics programs have made presentations, and sharing plans, easier than ever, but the greatest new tools come in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), allowing study of the work site long before an actual site visit. Related Links: No Longer Misunderstood Landscape Architects Enjoy Renaissance Not Just a Walk in the Park “[We are] using GIS at the planning level in terms of recreational uses, in terms of identifying travel routes, scenic value of those routes, studying impact of

Landscape architects are shaping the future of our cities as seen from the sidewalk – and the roof, and the internal courtyard and along the highway. They are responsible for keeping human waste out of our beaches, our cities from burning up in a haze of melting asphalt and our fragile psyches from self-destructing due to too much stress. Image: Field Operations State Island’s Fresh Kills park will create 2,200 acres of park space out of the world’s largest landfill. Designed by New York City-based Field Operations, the park will feature wetlands, waterways, hills, and skyline views. It is expected

While the rest of the country percolated with construction activity before the recession hit, Upstate New York construction activity seemed to lag behind, but now technology companies have discovered its attributes and major state and federal projects dot the landscape. Related Links: Big Ideas “We’ve had in the last five or six years an increase in construction activity,” says Paul O. Cannon, principal and regional director for Cannon Design of Grand Island, N.Y. “I don’t think we are as susceptible to the ups and downs of the marketplace as other regions might be. We don’t see the big ups and,