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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

NYBC projects that construction spending will reach $28.8 billion by year-end but fall to $25.1 billion in 2013. The analysis is an update of NYBC’s annual New York City Construction Outlook report that was released last October. Anderson The NYBC analysis shows that government construction spending including mass transit, public schools, roads, bridges and other infrastructure accounted for 53% of all construction spending in the five boroughs last year. That put this sector’s spending at $14.4 billion in 2011, down 10% from 2010. NYBC predicts government construction spending will decline further, to $12.7 billion in 2012 and $9.69 billion in

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s One World Trade Center reached 1,271 ft on April 30th after ironworkers from DCM Erectors installed two, 26-ft steel interior columns on the top. The columns have surpassed the architectural top of the Empire State Building, which stands 1,250 ft above grade and 1,454 ft to the top of its spire. Photo by Luke Abaffy Steel will continue to be erected on the tower until it tops out and reaches its 104th floor at 1,368 ft this summer. CM Tishman Construction says that when completed in fall 2013, the tower will

In the renewable energy world, the 115-kilowatt solar array under construction on the roof of Bedminster, N.J.'s Public Works building is nothing special. But when viewed with 37 other mostly small-scale installations across northern Somerset County that have pooled resources to afford solar installations, Bedminster is part of a veritable 7-megawatt powerhouse. Related Links: ENR New York Each individual installation contributes to that powerhouse under a roughly $35-million county initiative to install rooftop, ground mount or canopy solar panels on government buildings and schools that are structurally sound enough to support them. Morris County devised the aggregated-site solar program, backed

As the economy began a slow recovery last year, design firms held on for a long ride. Construction budgets and jobs were still being slashed and projects delayed, although not to the same degree as in 2010. While the ride ahead appears to be a lot less bumpy, design professionals say they are hanging on and are preparing for a long gradual recovery until activity returns to pre-recession levels. Related Links: Public Projects Helped Firms Stay Stable In 2010 "The positive thing about 2011 was stability as compared with 2010, but, even so, there was no major growth," says Ira

New York Photo by Carolina Worrell No. 7 Line Extension: Work at the MTA Capital Construction site was suspended for about a week after the April 3 crane collapse. Related Links: Click here for more ENR NY news Ongoing Probe Shows Defects in Crane System Investigations are ongoing into the April 3 deadly crane collapse at the No. 7 subway line extension site between 33rd and 34th streets on Manhattan's West Side. The Dept. of Buildings said in the days following the accident that it found defects in the hoisting system of the crane, a Manitowoc 4100 model."The maintenance and

High-profile projects across the New York region are seldom the work of just one or two design firms anymore.

James Lomma, who faced multiple counts of negligent homicide and other charges in connection with the deadly 2008 tower crane collapse, was cleared of all charges on April 26. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Daniel Conviser delivered the verdict in a case that began in February and garnered national attention. Lomma, who owns New York Crane & Equipment Corp., Brooklyn, and transport services firm J.F. Lomma Inc., South Kearny, N.J., faced 15 years in prison if convicted. He was charged in connection with the deaths of Donald Leo, a members of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 14-14B,and Ramadan Kurtag,