As public sector work continues its downward spiral, regional contractors are filling revenue gaps with a much more diverse mixture of project types than in recent years. While several large-scale energy and transportation projects broke ground in and around New York City in 2013, most of industry's new construction was sharply focused in the private sector, executives say. The broader array of offerings, they add, is fueling industry growth and providing work for more firms that struggled through the downturn. Related Links: More Industry Forecasts Building Up Industry One Tower, One Bridge at a Time "The market today is unquestionably
Thatcher Associates, a subsidiary of K2 Intelligence Inc., New York City, has hired Kimberly D. Hardy as managing director. She joins Thatcher from the New York City Dept. of Housing Preservation and Development, where she established monitoring procedures for issues involving prevailing wage, minority and women-owned business enterprises and fair housing requirements. Related Links: ENR New York For More People on the Move Passero Associates, Rochester, N.Y., has made several appointments. It has hired Bruce Clark as aviation services senior Clarkproject manager; Tim Harris and Matt Newcomb as project engineers in the civil engineering department; and Tim Geier as intern
New York Photo Courtesy of U.S. Dept. of Energy New Direction: New York's highest court has upheld local bans on shale gas fracturing. Related Links: http://newyork.construction.com/ ENR New York http://newyork.construction.com/new_york_construction_news/ ENR New York Featured News Court Upholds Towns' Rights to Ban Fracking The hydraulic fracturing sector is assessing the impact of a ruling late last month by New York state's highest court that municipalities have the right to stop the practice.At issue were challenges to bans on oil-and-gas production activities, including shale gas drilling, that were enacted in the upstate towns of Middlefield and Dryden. In a 5-2 decision on
The U.S. Tennis Association is expected to name the construction manager for its $550-million-plus Billie Jean King National Tennis Center project in Queens as early as the second week of July, say sources close to the project. Rendering Courtesy of Rossetti Work began on the three-phase project in April and is set for completion in August 2018, in time for the U.S. Open Tennis Championships that year. The three-phase project includes building a $150-million, Rossetti-designed retractable roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium as well as two new stadiums on the 46.5-acre site. Rossetti is the original stadium’s architect.Phase one began in
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and New Jersey Transit are set to receive $234 million in federal funds as reimbursement for ongoing capital work as well as new projects related to Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts.Under the Federal Transit Administration’s Emergency Relief Program, PANYNJ was awarded about $167 million for the PATH rail system and NJT $67 million. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s agency so far has allocated $1.36 billion to PANYNJ and $448.2 million to NJT through the program. For all transit agencies eligible to receive Sandy aid, FTA says it has so far allocated about
While accidents involving large circular saw blades failing can happen, it is highly unusual for a blade to become dislodged from its saw and fly off into the air, says one industry expert, referring to such an incident that occurred at a Manhattan job site on May 27. The 3-ft-diameter blade appears to be from a slab saw, or flat saw, which is typically used to cut thick concrete structures and roadways and is tough enough to cut through steel reinforcements, says Russell Hitchen, a staff member of the non-profit Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association (CSDA), which provides training, forums
The New York City Economic Development Corp. has issued a request for proposals to conduct a feasibility study for flood protection of Superstorm Sandy-damaged neighborhoods adjacent to Brooklyn’s Coney Island Creek. Also under consideration are waterfront access and quality improvements to these communities, as well as stormwater management and economic development, the agency said in a May 16 announcement.The feasibility study, which NYCEDC will manage on behalf of the Mayor’s Office of Recovery and Resiliency, is scheduled to commence this fall and evaluate a tidal barrier and wetlands concept that the city put in place after the October 2012 superstorm.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority says that Metro-North Railroad has completed 14 of the 27 safety measures either mandated or suggested in the Federal Railroad Administration’s review of its operations earlier this year. The railroad has made progress on five of the measures and has a plan for eight more, MTA says. The May 15 announcement came the same day that the National Transportation Safety Board made safety recommendations to both MTA and FRA. Safety steps taken since last December include train speed reductions, automated track inspections and cab cameras, MTA says. It adds that it has begun to expedite implementation of positive
Staten Island, N.Y.-Elizabeth, N.J. Related Links: ENR New York ENR New York Featured News Work Begins on New $1.5B Goethals BridgeAfter nearly a decade of negotiation and debate, work began earlier this month on the $1.5-billion project to replace the more than 80-year-old Goethals Bridge. Substantial completion of the new cable-stayed bridge—said to be the Northeast region's first surface transportation project built as a public-private partnership—is expected in late 2016, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.The bridge, which connects Staten Island, N.Y., with Elizabeth, N.J., will include wide travel lanes and 12-ft shoulders aimed at
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