Lee Petrella, vice president of Thornton Tomasetti’s New York office and known to his colleagues as “Big Lee,” died on Monday, Aug. 20, in Astoria, Queens. He was 54. Petrella Petrella, who became vice president in 2008, had been battling cancer for many years, says a Thornton Tomasetti spokeswoman. He is survived by his wife, Luanne.Petrella began his career with Thornton Tomasetti’s predecessor company Lev Zetlin Associates in 1980 after graduating from City College of New York (CUNY) with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He was a member of the Thornton Tomasetti building structure team and worked on many
From the outside, Princeton Theological Seminary's new library, under construction in Princeton, N.J., looks a lot like other scholarly research libraries on stately campuses. But looks in this case are deceiving. The new structure, when completed next year, will play a significant role in preserving one of the world's largest and oldest collections of theological books—second only to the Vatican Library in Rome. Related Links: ENR New York Digging Deeper Project Stories "People come from all over the world to see these priceless collections," says German Martinez Jr., PTS director of facilities and construction. Martinez oversees construction of the 94,000-sq-ft
Kris Bauman has joined Sam Schwartz Engineering, New York, as executive vice president and chief operating officer. He has more than 30 years of experience in construction and real estate and was the former president of Bauman Co. in Newtown, Pa. Related Links: ENR New York Featured People Chris Ward, executive vice president for major projects at Dragados USA, has joined the New York Building Congress' board of directors, a coalition representing all facets of the city's design, construction and real estate industry. From 2008 to 2011, Ward served as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and
New York Less Troubled Waters: Gov. Cuomo has applied for federal funding to build a new bridge that would replace the 56-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge. The Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project moved closer to start-up last month as Gov. Andrew Cuomo formally initiated New York's application for funding under the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) for the $5-billion-plus project. The governor, joined by other state and local officials, signed an Aug. 20th letter of intent notifying U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood that the state is seeking TIFIA funding.The move came after New York Metropolitan Transportation Council
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) members voted unanimously today, Aug. 20, to approve resolutions that allow for the planned Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project to progress to the next stage. "The federal process at the regional level is complete. The state can move forward with the project, which is now eligible [to seek funding under the] federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA)," says Lisa Daglian, NYMTC spokeswoman.The counci'’s vote follows Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Aug. 16 announcement that three Hudson Valley County executives on the council agreed to vote in support of the replacement bridge plan. The next
Riverkeeper, Ossining, N.Y., is crying foul over the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council's last-minute notice for a "crucial" vote today, Aug. 20, pertaining to the planned Tappan Zee Bridge project. The agency's rules require two weeks' notice for such meetings, and the NYMTC gave only three days, Riverkeeper says. The council is in session this morning to decide whether to adopt resolutions that reportedly would pave the way for the state to apply for federal loans to help fund the project. Cost estimates for the project range from $4.6 billion to $5.6 billion.NYMTC officials could not be reached for comment.A
JetBlue Airways, New York, says it will reschedule the groundbreaking ceremony for its new international arrivals building at John F. Kennedy International Airport's Terminal 5. The airline did not provide a new date or say why it would not keep to the originally scheduled Aug. 20th date. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials approved the expansion project last June. Completion is set for early 2015.The new facility, dubbed T5i, will add 145,000 sq. ft. of space on three levels of the 635,000-sq.-ft. Terminal 5 site. The project includes dedicated gates for its international arrivals and a new
This has been a strong year for wind-power capacity increases, but some experts are worried about the industry's future. They point to increased industry layoffs and plant shutdowns as well as the impending expiration of the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) as evidence that as early as next year the market may weaken. Photo Courtesy of Dennis Schroeder/NREL New Turn: Wind power capacity is up in the U.S. but some industry firms face layoffs. Even so, the U.S. ranked as one of the world's largest and fastest-growing wind markets last year, with wind power representing 32% of all new
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