Construction starts in New York City dropped 16% in the first half this year, to $6.6 billion, compared with the same year-ago period, according to a recent New York Building Congress analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction Data. The non-residential sector took the hardest hit in the first six months, diving 48% to $3.2 billion, NYBC says. The data cover all project starts including new construction, alterations and renovations. Photo by Mark Lyon A project related to the Second Avenue Subway was one of the biggest starts in the non-building sector in the first half of 2012. "The data from the non-residential
The New York City Dept. of Design and Construction (DDC) says it plans to issue new guidelines on Sept. 13 for the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) for new public buildings. The guidelines establish a framework to enable all future DDC-managed public building projects to be delivered using 3-D technologies and BIM processes. ENR New York reported on DDC's plans to roll out BIM standards earlier this year. The agency joins a small list of others in the region including the NYC Dept. of Buildings (DOB) and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York that have BIM
Hot on the heels of the startup of Nevada's first wind power project on public land, the forecast for the nation's wind industry is beginning to turn, well, not so swell. Sector layoffs and plant shutdowns this year are up and are expected to continue next year, which many industry players largely blame on the scheduled expiration of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) by year-end. Photo Courtesy of Pattern Energy New Turns: Pattern Energy's new 151.8-MW Spring Valley wind farm is Nevada's first on public lands. Even so, this has been a strong year for U.S. wind-power capacity
On the heels of OSHA's announcement of a new safety campaign concerning construction-related falls, news spread of an ironworker fall at 3 World Trade Center on Aug. 29. The 36-year-old male ironworker fell Wednesday about 15 feet from a beam while erecting structural steel at the base of the building, John Gallagher, spokesman at Tishman Construction, said in an Aug. 29 statement. Tishman is the 3 WTC construction manager. The worker was alert when taken to Bellevue Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, he adds.The worker, whose name was not released, is with Falcon Steel Co., Inc., Wilmington, Del. Company officials
From the outside, Princeton Theological Seminary's new library, under construction in Princeton, N.J., looks a lot like other scholarly research libraries on stately campuses. But looks in this case are deceiving. The new structure, when completed next year, will play a significant role in preserving one of the world's largest and oldest collections of theological books—second only to the Vatican Library in Rome. Related Links: ENR New York Digging Deeper Project Stories "People come from all over the world to see these priceless collections," says German Martinez Jr., PTS director of facilities and construction. Martinez oversees construction of the 94,000-sq-ft
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) members voted unanimously today, Aug. 20, to approve resolutions that allow for the planned Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project to progress to the next stage. "The federal process at the regional level is complete. The state can move forward with the project, which is now eligible [to seek funding under the] federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA)," says Lisa Daglian, NYMTC spokeswoman.The counci'’s vote follows Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Aug. 16 announcement that three Hudson Valley County executives on the council agreed to vote in support of the replacement bridge plan. The next
Riverkeeper, Ossining, N.Y., is crying foul over the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council's last-minute notice for a "crucial" vote today, Aug. 20, pertaining to the planned Tappan Zee Bridge project. The agency's rules require two weeks' notice for such meetings, and the NYMTC gave only three days, Riverkeeper says. The council is in session this morning to decide whether to adopt resolutions that reportedly would pave the way for the state to apply for federal loans to help fund the project. Cost estimates for the project range from $4.6 billion to $5.6 billion.NYMTC officials could not be reached for comment.A
JetBlue Airways, New York, says it will reschedule the groundbreaking ceremony for its new international arrivals building at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5. The airline did not provide a new date or say why it would not keep to the originally scheduled Aug. 20th date. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials approved the expansion project last June. Completion is set for early 2015.The new facility, dubbed T5i, will add 145,000 sq. ft. of space on three levels of the 635,000-sq.-ft. Terminal 5 site. The project includes dedicated gates for its international arrivals and a new
This has been a strong year for wind-power capacity increases, but some experts are worried about the industry's future. They point to increased industry layoffs and plant shutdowns as well as the impending expiration of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) as evidence that as early as next year the market may weaken. Photo Courtesy of Dennis Schroeder/NREL New Turn: Wind power capacity is up in the U.S. but some industry firms face layoffs. Even so, the U.S. ranked as one of the world's largest and fastest-growing wind markets last year, with wind power representing 32% of all new