While still grappling with issues resulting from Superstorm Sandy's devastating blow, water and wastewater treatment plants in New York and New Jersey have made a slew of emergency and interim repairs in the last 16 months to keep operations online and systems running. Industry executives say that further work needs to be done, however, to make more permanent repairs and improve resiliency at these plants, most of which are low-lying and highly vulnerable to flooding in severe storms like Sandy. Related Links: Bay Park Set to Start $35.7M Project in May Pumping Station Repair Work Expected at PVSC To that

It could be argued that 2013 was the year that Superstorm Sandy made state and local governments along the Eastern Seaboard take a closer look at alternative energy systems. Thousands of tristate households lost power due to the storm, a situation that some of those same households faced in major prior-year storms. Even as Congress continues deliberations over long-term tax reform, which may include certain alternative energy subsidies, analysts say that Sandy has given a significant boost to programs aimed at finding ways to make sure the lights stay on when adverse weather hits. Photo Courtesy of AWEA Related Links:

Related Links: Production Tax Credit Extension Boosts Wind Sector Is Energy Tax Policy the Way to Drive the U.S. Climate Change Fight? Once again, uncertainty reigns over whether the federal production tax credit (PTC), which expired on Dec. 31 for wind and several other alternative energy industries, will be renewed.The credit, which has a long history of being temporarily renewed after expiration, pays 2.3¢ per kilowatt hour of generation to wind, geothermal and cloosed-loop biomass energy companies, and 1.1¢/kWh to municipal solid-waste and certain other alternative power firms. The payment period generally applies to the first 10 years of operation.

Critics say "good riddance" to the expiration late last year of a federal production tax credit (PTC) that paid wind, geothermal and biomass energy generators 2.3 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) for as long as 10 years. They contend that the wind market, in particular, has been around for decades and that it should not continue to be supported by the PTC if it is not yet self-sufficient. Photo Courtesy of AWEA Wind Worries: If Congress does not renew the PTC, say those who stand to benefit from it, the future of new projects and investment in these technologies is

While October 2012's Superstorm Sandy dealt its most powerful blow to the Eastern Seaboard from Maine to Virginia, it also affected regions as far south as Florida and as far inland as the Great Lakes region, according to a new study from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). But risk-reduction measures completed before the storm at several of the Corps' coastal projects helped to mitigate damage at those locations, the study finds. Photo By Dan Desmet/USACE New York District Fact-Finding Mission: In the days following Superstorm Sandy, Corps workers assess the impact of the storm on a beach at

Further details were released in the last week on three separate but major NYC projects—Hudson Yards; 3 Hudson Blvd.; and the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. Rendering Courtesy of The Moinian Group Elegant Twist: Once completed, the tower will provide 360 degree views of the Hudson River, High Line, Hudson Blvd. Park, Central Park, Times Square, and the Empire State Building. Rendering Courtesy of Kilograph Technologically Advanced: The entire Cornell Tech campus is scheduled for completion in 2043 and aims to become of the country's leading applied sciences schools. The biggest in contract value of these comes from Tutor

New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) has made $30 million in funding available for solar and biogas projects in New York City and the Hudson Valley that generate more than 200 kilowatts of power.   The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is seeking proposals for these projects by Dec. 30. Projects must be installed, interconnected to the grid and operational by April 30, 2015. The funding can be used to provide financing for half of total installed costs of systems and is capped at $3 million per project and $6 million per applicant. The funding is

Las Vegas-based developer Triple Five Worldwide Development Co. expects to announce its construction team for the long-stalled $2.2-billion American Dream Meadowlands project as early as first quarter of 2014, a Triple Five spokesman says. Construction would start soon after and take 18 to 24 months to complete, says Alan Marcus, president and CEO of the Marcus Group, Little Falls, N.J., which represents Triple Five. Rendering Courtesy of GH+A A reawakening: A team may be chosen as early as the first quarter of 2014 for the long-delayed $2.2-billion project. Related Links: Outlook 2014: Sandy Work Still Helping Region's Gradual Recovery ENR

it may be more than a year since Superstorm Sandy pummeled the tristate region, but its powerful punch is still fueling industry activity and is expected to continue contributing to a gradual recovery. While emergency repair work flourished in nearly all sectors immediately after the late-October 2012 storm, rebuilding efforts in some regions have helped boost the 2013 bottom lines of many firms, industry executives say. Sandy-related activity is expected to continue into 2014, both in terms of rebuilding and as the public and private sectors fine-tune longer-term resiliency plans. Related Links: Lessons Learned From a Superstorm Outlook 2013: Recovery

Growing demand for luxury residential towers, particularly in Manhattan, is a key driver behind the 12% decline this year in New York City's list of stalled projects, according to the New York Building Congress (NYBC). Some of the luxury developments that have been shelved since 2009, when the Dept. of Buildings (DOB) began tracking stalled sites, "have come roaring back to life," says NYBC, which analyzed the DOB's stalled projects data from November 2012 to the present. These include the 60-story 56 Leonard Street and the 20-story 5 Franklin Place residential buildings, both in Tribeca.The city has so far this