New York City's efforts to improve its educational system took the spotlight in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s State of the City address earlier today, but job creation and a slew of construction projects planned or under way were also mentioned. The mayor, who spoke at Morris High School in the Bronx, praised the city’s 2011 accomplishments and set a broad list of goals in several areas including plans to streamline the building inspection process. "We've already opened an online hub for reviewing and approving digital construction plans," Bloomberg said, referring to the Dept. of Buildings' recently launched NYC Development Hub. "Now,

Rendering Courtesy of Cornell University The Cornell-Technion team will receive a 99-year lease and $100 million in city funding to help with building and related costs of the campus. New York City is on its way to becoming the "world's capital of technological innovation" with the selection of Cornell University and its partner Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a state-of-the-art applied sciences campus, says NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. The Cornell-Technion team's proposal for an 11-acre, $2-billion-plus campus on Roosevelt Island beat out several other proposals under the mayor's Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which aims to boost the city's global

Mayor Michael Bloomberg confirmed yesterday that the 9/11 museum at the World Trade Center site will not open as scheduled on September 2012 due to financial disputes between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum foundation. The Port Authority has previously claimed that the foundation owes it $300 million in cost overruns. However, the mayor, who is the foundation’s chairman, says that the Port Authority owes the foundation about $140 million. The foundation declined comment for this story, and the Port Authority did not return calls by press time."There's no

Repair work on the George Washington Bridge's 80-year-old suspender ropes is expected to begin in 2013 and last eight to nine years, says the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Earlier this month, the Port Authority approved a $15.5-million investment in planning funds for the work, only a portion of the $1-billion to $1.2-billion needed for the overall GWB planned project. The $15.5 million is earmarked for engineering and consulting services to prepare the suspender rope project for construction, says an agency spokesperson. "This is a big, important project because those ropes haven't ever been replaced," says Thomas

Cornell University and its partner, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, have won New York City's competition to build a $2-billion-plus applied sciences campus on Roosevelt Island, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced December 19. The partnership team beat out seven other bidders for the mayor’s Applied Sciences NYC initiative, launched last winter, which aims to build or expand a state-of-the-art engineering and applied sciences campus in the city. Rendering Courtesy of Cornell University The announcement follows Cornell’s news last week of a $350-million donation made to support the project. Cornell did not initially release the source of the donation, however, it recently confirmed

New York state's recently passed legislation to allow design-build delivery for certain infrastructure projects may be more a sign of the economically troubled times than a whole-hearted vote for this alternative project delivery system, say some industry players."We've seen quite a number of states in the last few years that have passed legislation allowing for public-private partnerships, and, if there are public-private partnership laws, design-build really has to be a part of them," says Mike Schneider, managing partner at Los Angeles-based InfraConsult LLC, which specializes in transportation consulting.Helping to drive this trend is the scarcity of federal infrastructure funding coupled

A federal program that allows foreign investment in U.S. construction projects, including some in New York City, in exchange for an eventual green card has begun to raise concern for the Obama Administration, according to a recent article in The New York Times. The Immigrant Investor Program, dubbed “EB-5,” was created in 1990 to stimulate the economy and create jobs through capital investment, but critics contend that the program has fostered “unsavory practices” in recent years, according to the Times, which examined the program. Under EB-5, foreigners must invest in a new commercial enterprise and create or preserve at least

New York State has passed legislation to allow design-build project delivery for certain infrastructure projects. Industry groups, including the Design-Build Institute of America, praised the measure. Under the law, several state agencies—the N.Y. State Dept. of Environmental Conservation; Dept. of Transportation; Thruway Authority; Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; and Bridge Authority—are now authorized to use design-build.   The law, which creates the New York Works Infrastructure Fund, is part of a broader economic package aimed at job creation and tax reduction for the middle class. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) unveiled the program Dec. 6. The law is set

The Mattabassett, Conn. District is scheduled to vote on December 19 on whether to approve C.H. Nickerson of Torrington, Conn., to upgrade and expand the regional sewer district’s 35-million-gallon/day wastewater treatment plant in Cromwell. Nickerson, the lowest bidder for the project, bid $93.5 million. Rendering Courtesy of Wright-Pierce Construction on the Mattabassett District's planned WTP upgrade could begin as early as March 2012. If Nickerson is approved, construction could begin as early as March 2012, says Brian Armet, the district’s executive director. If it is not approved, the district would lose a state grant covering 22.9% of project costs and

Year-over-year construction employment in the tristate region rose slightly, following a broader national trend, according to the Associated General Contractors of America's latest analysis of Dept. of Labor data. Construction employment rose in half the states and decreased in the other half during the past year, closely matching the stable national employment picture, AGC says. The even split reflects the accelerating improvement in apartment and private nonresidential construction, offset by a declining public market and stalled single-family sector, it adds.Job gains nationwide are likely to remain spotty for months to come, however, says Ken Simonson, AGC's chief economist.In Connecticut, industry