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,
Owner and developer SL Green Realty and its construction manager Tishman Construction have announced the topping out of 180 Broadway, which will be the new home for some 600 Pace University students. The $60-million, 24-story residence hall topped out after a bucket carried concrete to the top of the structure on April 24. The new dormitory will be open to students in 2013. The first three levels of the tower will be used for retail and are available for leasing. SL Green, Tishman and university officials attended the celebration. Photo Courtesy of Tishman Construction Pictured from left: Tishman Constructions Rob
An audit that was triggered by three anonymous letters revealed that fake bids were made for construction contracts at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, says New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. According to the audit, Brooklyn-based Eagle Two Construction and its affiliated fake companies were paid $1.2 million by SUNY between January 1996 and October 2010. The affiliated companies, which are all located at the same address, had submitted competing bids in six separate procurements, some of which were forged, according to the findings made by DiNapoli’s auditors and investigators. Eagle Two won $92,090 in
New York University has reduced its plan to expand in Greenwich Village by 19%, or 337,000 sq ft, of the proposed 2 million sq ft under the university’s 30-year plan. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer approved the changed plan April 11. Rendering Courtesy of NYU Greenwich Village residents and Community Board No. 2 had opposed the plan since its inception in 2007, fearing that the expansion would take away from neighborhood esthetics. So the university changed the plan to ensure that the public-strips surrounding Washington Square Village are preserved by eliminating a proposed 183,000-sq-ft below-grade space and a 20,7000 gymnasium.
Dept. of Buildings’ engineers have found defects in the hoisting system of the crane that collapsed at the No. 7 subway line expansion site in Manhattan April 3, said Robert LiMandri, DOB commissioner, in a statement. The accident, which occurred shortly before 7:30 p.m. at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority project located between 33rd and 34th Streets on 11th Avenue, killed 30-year-old Michael Simermeyer, a worker for crane owner and operator J&E Industries LLC, Far Rockaway, N.Y. The crane is a Manitowoc 4100 model. “The maintenance and operation of the crane in the days and weeks prior to this tragic accident
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office has begun to specify a slew of major infrastructure projects statewide that will receive funding under the newly created NY Works Task Force economic development program. The program, which the governor calls the “centerpiece” of his $132.6-billion budget that passed last week, includes an investment of $1.2-billion to accelerate road and bridge improvements. The program will accelerate state investments in improvements to hundreds of miles of roads, bridges as well as parks and historic sites. Investments announced the week of April 2 include $460 million to replace New York City’s Kosciuszko Bridge; $145 million for bridge
On the heels of passage of New York State’s $132.6-billion budget that includes $1.2 billion in funding for bridge and road improvements, a state assembly member has proposed a bond bill aimed at helping to finance the state’s future infrastructure needs. Jim Brennan (D-Brooklyn) introduced legislation on April 5 to ask voters on November 2013 to authorize the state to borrow and pay the debt service on $4.5 billion of improvements for mass transit, roads, bridges, airports and other transportation-related work. Under the bill, funds would be divided into $2.025 billion for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; $225 million for non-MTA
After three years of construction, computer chip-maker GlobalFoundries’ new $4.6-billion plant in Malta, N.Y. is nearing completion. Construction of the interior is currently under way, with full plant start up set for year-end. Photo Courtesy of GlobalFoundries The 1.2-million-sq-ft “Fab 8” will be one of the most technologically advanced fabs worldwide, with capacity to process about 60,000, 32/28 nm wafers a month, the company says. It will serve 160 companies including IBM, which worked with GlobalFoundries last December on an initial production of advanced chips at the site.“The project is currently transitioning into the operations phase,” says a spokesperson for
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says it has suspended construction at the No. 7 subway line extension project and ordered inspection of all cranes at every MTA Capital Construction work site, following the April 3 crane collapse at the No. 7 project. The collapse took place around 7:20 p.m., killing one worker from subcontractor J&E Industries LLC, Far Rockaway, N.Y. and injuring the leg of another from Yonkers Contracting Co., the agency says. Yonkers Contracting is the owner and operator of the Manitowoc 4100 model crane that collapsed at the site, located between 33rd and 34th Streets on 11th Avenue in
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