A 28-year-old construction worker fell about three stories to his death May 17th from scaffolding on an apartment building in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood. The worker, identified as Adrien Zamora, appears to have been doing facade restoration work “when he lost his footing and fell” from the scaffolding installed at 450 Broome St., says a spokeswoman at the Dept. of Buildings, which is investigating the incident along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It was the worker’s first day on the job. “The site had all the necessary permits,” the DOB spokeswoman says. The agency has had two complaints
The Dept. of Buildings has issued stop work orders at a Manhattan apartment building where a construction worker fell to his death and has cited the general contractor for violations. The worker, identified as Adrien Zamora, apparently lost his footing and fell from scaffolding while doing façade work at 450 Broome St. in SoHo on May 17th, DOB says. The violations issued May 18th to the GC, Brasal Construction Corp., New York, include “failure to protect all persons and parties affected by construction operations” and “building the scaffolding contrary to approved plans,” a DOB spokeswoman says. She did not supply
Legislation that gives the Conn. Dept. of Transportation the option of using design-build (DB) as an alternative project delivery method and allows municipalities the option of using project labor agreements (PLAs) on public projects currently awaits Gov. Dannel Malloy's signature to become law. An aide in the governor's office says that he will sign the bill, which passed the House and Senate earlier this month, when it reaches his desk. The governor has already voiced support for the DB legislation, which he says puts Connecticut "in a better position to get federal money for critically important investments in our state's
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
At a recent panel discussion geared toward women, most of the attendees under 35 years old raised their hands when they specifically were asked if they feel they have the same opportunities in industry as men. The enthusiastic response led one panelist to say, “the game is changing,” but not long afterward an audience member expressed frustration over management not viewing her as equal to the men she works with. That led some audience members to nod their heads in agreement, with one quietly saying “there’s still a glass ceiling.” Photo by Joanna Dela Rosa One way to handle an
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
About 41% of New York State’s 11,600 miles of high-voltage transmission lines are so old that they will need to be replaced during the next 30 years at a cost of more than $25 billion, according to a new study by an electric utility group. The study, the second phase of a long-term NYS transmission system assessment, identifies another $2.5 billion worth of incremental upgrades to existing lines and construction of new lines. The assessment includes current and future infrastructure demands and suggestions to improve the system’s reliability. The study outlines several possible fixes to various parts of the transmission
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
The design-build team for the $5.2-billion Tappan Zee bridge replacement project will be chosen this summer, said Thomas Madison, executive director of the NYS Thruway Authority. Transportation officials hope that the selected team, which will be chosen from four that were shortlisted on Feb. 7, will start construction by year-end, said Madison, who spoke at a lecture sponsored by The Moles on May 2. Photo Courtesy of NYS Thruway Authority Other upcoming deadlines include completion in August of an extensive environmental review that was issued concurrently with the RFP for design and construction.Plans call for the new bridge, which will
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