The New York construction market next year is likely to mirror that of the national market, which McGraw-Hill Construction recently forecast as flat at about $412 billion in starts. McGraw-Hill Construction, the parent company of ENR New York, expects 2011 total starts to hit $410 billion, a 4% drop over 2010. The company cites slow economic growth, diminished federal and state funding, and "pervasive uncertainty." Next year "the top-line numbers are not expected to show much change, but there will be variation within the major construction sectors, with some gains predicted for housing and commercial building, assuming the U.S. economy
The Connecticut Laborers’ District Council is not a fan of ESPN’s non-union choice of general and site contractors to build a new $100-million, 193,000-sq-ft digital center in Bristol, Conn., and it is encouraging union players in the major sports leagues to boycott ESPN. The district council charges that the GM, Associated Construction Company, Hartford, and site contractor, Mizzy Construction in Plainville, Conn., are non-union shops that “do not pay living wages or follow area standards.” Union members have been picketing the ESPN site. Photo Courtesy of the Conn. Laborers' District Council Neither ESPN nor the contractor firms returned calls for
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Joseph J. Lhota to serve as chairman and CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Lhota, whose appointment is dependent on confirmation from the senate, is expected to start serving as interim CEO within one month. Lhota currently serves as the executive vice president/administration for Madison Square Garden Co. He once served as the NYC commissioner of finance and has been an MTA board member. Lhota also was the NYC deputy mayor for operations under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, as well as budget director.Gov. Cuomo also selected Nuria Fernandez as COO of the MTA, and Kevin Rae
New Jersey’s Sheraton Parsippany Hotel is set to begin a $15-million renovation of its seven floors on Nov. 1. First Finish, Columbia, Md., is the general contractor on the project, which is part of the Sheraton brand’s $6-billion globalization revitalization efforts, and AIOA, Annapolis, Md., is the architect. The renovation is scheduled to be completed by April 2012. The renovation includes a lobby-based connectivity hub, newly designed seating, an interactive check-in area, enhanced lighting, and a club lounge. It will also feature a new 20,000-sq-ft facility including indoor and outdoor pools, racquetball and spa services, work that is also
Consultancy Turner & Townsend, London, continues its geographic expansion with the acquisition of Ferzan Robbins & Associates, a N.Y.-based project management and services firm that will be merged with Turner & Townsend’s New York office. Terms were not disclosed. Turner & Townsend says the deal is part of its previously announced strategy to boost its U.S. presence and will provide the critical mass needed to support U.S. clients. Ferzan Robbins & Associates provides “a team with deep experience, an outstanding reputation, and a client list boasting many Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of sectors including banking, media/communications and
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has recommended Patrick J. Foye to become executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and has called for consolidation of the Moynihan Station Development Corp. and the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. operations into PANYNJ. Foye currently serves as the governor’s deputy secretary of economic development and oversees the Empire State Development Corp. There is no fiscal impact to PANYNJ as a result of these actions, he says. “Too many different agencies doing the same or closely related work makes little sense,” Gov. Cuomo said in a statement. “The Port Authority is
With the possibility of Indian Point Energy Center closing and the potential for a strong economic recovery, New York City needs to be prepared to add enough electric generating capacity to prevent blackouts and price spikes, according to a recently released New York Building Congress report. The report, Electricity Outlook: Powering New York City Through 2030, concludes that current in-city generation and transmission capacity is sufficient to meet the city’s electrical needs through 2015 but that 1,000 megawatts of capacity needs to be added between 2014 and 2016, in addition to projects currently in the works to meet future
L&T Construction, Richmondville, N.Y. has won the bid for a three-mile-long highway construction project in Binghamton, N.Y., known as the Prospect Mountain Phase I. L&T made the lowest bid at about $135 million, beating out 10 other companies whose bids reached as high as $157 million, says the New York State Dept. of Transportation. The project includes the convergence of Route 17 and Interstate 81 with I-88. The project will also help bring up to interstate standards an eight-mile section of Route 17 that was designed in the mid-1960s to handle 35,000 vehicles but now handles twice that amount, NYSDOT
Project labor agreements that incorporate community workforce agreements are on the rise nationwide and are becoming more comprehensive than they were prior to 2004, according to a new study by Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School. CWAs, which typically include training and apprenticeships, help in job creation and career development, particularly for disadvantaged communities, says Kimberly Freeman Brown, executive director of the Washington-based American Rights at Work, a pro-union advocacy group that commissioned the study. This is an especially welcome development at a time when frustration over the nation's high unemployment rate and lack of job creation mounts as
Snapshot October 10, 2011 Submitted By: Claire Voyle In Store Support Specialist Olympus UK, Essex, U.K. “I was both shocked and amazed at the sight of this construction worker traversing the scaffolding much like a tightrope walker at the circus,” says Voyle, who took this shot from the top deck of a New York City tour bus on 5th Avenue. “Being on the top deck of the bus provided me with an unusual vantage point as you would usually be looking up at this kind of scene.” The picture was taken with an Olympus PEN compact system camera with a
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