The New York City Dept. of Buildings has named Timothy E. Hogan deputy commissioner of enforcement, replacing Eugene J. Corcoran. Hogan will oversee the DOB’s enforcement division, including all emergency and safety operations, complaint inspections and construction accident investigation. He will also oversee more than 120 attorneys, investigators and inspectors who focus on investigating violations of NYC construction codes and zoning resolution, DOB says.Hogan will also oversee DOB’s Office of Internal Audits and Discipline; work closely with the city’s Dept. of Investigation (DOI); and assist DOI with the Buildings Special Investigations Unit, which investigates unethical business practices and unsafe construction
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has awarded the New York-based joint venture team of Hill International, The LiRo Group, and HDR a $21.1 million expansion on its construction management contract on the No. 7 subway line extension project. Photo Courtesy of Skanska USA The new contract, awarded June 27, is for tunnel fit-out and terminal work. It follows the JV of Hill, LiRo, Lemley International, and HDR’s original contract for tunnel excavation work that was awarded in May 2007. The original contract work is expected to be completed by November 2013.The MTA’s $1.7-billion No. 7 line project will extend the
The Dept. of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined four New Jersey contractors a total of $463,350 for exposing workers to fall hazards. The fines follow a December 2011 OSHA inspection in which employees of the four firms working on the fourth floor of the 20-story Cast Iron Lofts project in Jersey City lacked fall protection or fall protection systems, OSHA says. The agency fined Jersey City-based owner White Diamonds Properties LLC $95,400 and masonry contractor Blade Contracting Inc. $11,550.Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.-based Altura Concrete Inc. and Nathil Corp., the concrete contractors for the foundation and superstructure of the
Many contractors in the tristate region say that two factors will largely determine the industry's robustness in the year to come—the economy and the upcoming general election. They reason that until the economy gains momentum, owners and developers will not shake their wait-and-see attitudes; and, until the next Congress is elected, federal funding levels for agencies and programs will remain a mystery with many projects left in limbo. Even so, contractors in the tristate region say they expect next year to be similar to 2011 and 2012 in that work will be available, but the volume of projects will not
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
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
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
Cornell University has chosen the New York City office of Morphosis Architects to design the first academic building of its planned Roosevelt Island applied sciences campus. Morphosis is expected to deliver a conceptual design in November and a schematic design in March 2013. New York-based Arup will be helping Morphosis develop the building. Rendering Courtesy of Cornell University The New York City office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill designed the master plan that helped Cornell win the competition to build a new applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island. Plans call for a 150,000-sq-ft structure to house classrooms and offices. The
Gary LaBarbera, president, Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, is one of fifteen members that Gov. Andrew Cuomo named on May 3 to his recently created New York Works Task Force. The task force, created under the governor’s 2012-13 budget to “change the way state agencies spend billions in taxpayer and commuter funds each year,” will have $750 million available under the Regional Economic Development Councils’ second round funding. The funding is aimed at supporting economic development, strategic plan implementation and job creation across the state. This round of funding consists of $220 million for regional strategic
NYBC projects that construction spending will reach $28.8 billion by year-end but fall to $25.1 billion in 2013. The analysis is an update of NYBC’s annual New York City Construction Outlook report that was released last October. Anderson The NYBC analysis shows that government construction spending including mass transit, public schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructure accounted for 53% of all construction spending in the five boroughs last year. That put this sector’s spending at $14.4 billion in 2011, down 10% from 2010. NYBC predicts government construction spending will decline further, to $12.7 billion in 2012 and $9.69 billion in