More than three-dozen projects in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut garnered high praise as winners of ENR New York’s Best Projects competition this year.

An independent panel of six industry leaders judged the main competition, reviewing the 59 projects submitted this year. Sometimes they moved a project from one category to another they thought was a better fit. They sorted out which, if any, deserved to take a top prize in a category and which, if any, should receive a merit award.

Ultimately, they chose 39 projects across 18 categories, plus one other that they deemed the region’s overall best.

Meanwhile, two other judges—each experts in safety—helmed the separate Safety award competition, now in its third year. These judges combed through 24 projects, some of which were only submitted to this category, and focused solely on whether and how far the project team went above and beyond the industry norm in safety. 

In the end, these judges saw fit to name both an overall category winner as well as a merit winner.

The list below contains nearly all of the winners. Like last year, we’re saving the announcement of which project nabbed the region’s overall Best Project award for the special awards breakfast on Nov. 12 in New York. We’ll also provide more details on all of the winners in ENR New York’s Nov. 17/24 issue.

The top-three contenders for THE Best Project of the year for this region can be found at the very end.

ENR New York’s 2014 Best Projects Winners By Category:

Airports/Transit

Winner—2nd Ave Subway, 96^th St. Station/Contract C 26005

(submitted by E.E. Cruz & Co.­)

Merit—Metro North Embankment Stabilization at Milepost HU43.8

(submitted by Kiewit Infrastructure Co.)

Cultural/Worship

Winner—Theatre for a New Audience at Polonsky Shakespeare Center

         (submitted by H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture)

 Merit—Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum/Carnegie Mansion

         (submitted by E.W. Howell Co.)

Government/Public Buildings

Winner—NYC Parks Beach Restoration Modules

         (submitted by Garrison Architects)

Merit—Statue of Liberty National Monument Life and Safety Upgrades and Post-Sandy Recovery

         (submitted by Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corp.)

Green

Winner—Novartis Visitor Reception Building

         (submitted by Novartis)

Merit—Fairchild Wheeler Inter-District Magnet Campus

         (submitted by Fusco Corp.)

Merit—Washington Square Park/Park House

         (submitted by New York City Dept. of Design and Construction)

Health Care

Winner—Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York

         (submitted by Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB)

Merit—Lawrence +Memorial Hospital Cancer Center

         (submitted by Suffolk Construction)

Higher Education

Winner—Bill & Melinda Gates Hall

         (submitted by Welliver)

Merit—Weill Cornell Medical College’s Belfer Research Building

         (submitted by Tishman Construction, an AECOM Co.)

Highways/Bridge

Winner—Historic Mystic Movable Bridge Rehabilitation

         (submitted by TranSystems Corp. of Connecticut)

Merit—Interchange 6 to 9 Widening Program, Interchange 8

         (submitted by Dewberry)

Merit—Design/Build Services for the Reconstruction of Ramp MQ at the RFK Bridge, RK-73

         (submitted by Halmar International) 

Merit—I-84 over Dingle Ridge Road/Rapid Bridge Replacement

         (submitted by HNTB Corp.) 

Merit—Alexander Hamilton Bridge and Highbridge Interchange Rehab Project

         (submitted by Halmar International)

Interiors/Tenant Improvement

Winner—FDR Presidential Library & Museum

         (submitted by Kirchhoff Consigli Construction Management) 

Merit—Harman

         (submitted by Shawmut Design and Construction) 

Merit—1552 Broadway

         (submitted by SL Green Realty Corp.) 

Merit—LS Travel iStore & Porsche Design

         (submitted by Holt Construction Corp.)

K-12 Education

Winner—PAVE Academy

         (submitted by Mitchell | Giurgola Architects)

Landscape/Urban Development

Winner—LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Prospect Park

         (submitted by Sciame Construction)

Manufacturing

Winner—Greenpac

         (submitted by VIP Structures)

Office/Retail/Mixed-Use

Winner—Novartis East Hanover Campus Transformation

         (submitted by Novartis) 

Merit—Entry Pavilion at Brookfield Place

         (submitted by Plaza Construction) 

Merit—4 World Trace Center

         (submitted by Leslie E. Robertson Associates and by Tishman Construction, an AECOM Co.)

Renovation/Restoration

Winner—Pier A Restoration

         (submitted by LiRo Program & Construction Management, PE and by WMC)

Residential/Hospitality

Winner—135 East 79^th

         (submitted by Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB) 

Merit—The Marriott at 1717 Broadway

         (submitted by CNY Group) 

Merit—The New York Palace

         (submitted by Shawmut Design and Construction)

Safety

Winner—The Green Lane Building at Kean University

(submitted by Gruskin Architecture + Design) 

Merit— Hyatt Times Square (135 W. 45th St.)

         (submitted by Lend Lease (US) Construction LMB Inc.)

Small Project (Under $10 Million)

Winner—Monmouth Battlefield State Park Visitor Center

         (submitted by ikon.5 architects)

Specialty Contracting

Winner—Hurricane Sandy Staten Island Residential Repairs

         (submitted by Conti Enterprises) 

Merit—NYU Langone Sandy Restoration

         (submitted by E-J Electric Installation Co.) 

Merit—4 New York Plaza

         (submitted by E-J Electric Installation Co.)

Sports/Entertainment

Winner—Madison Square Garden Transformation Project

         (submitted by Turner Construction Co.) 

Merit—Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino

         (submitted by Wendel)

Water/Environment

Winner—West Brook Flood Control Project

         (submitted by Maser Consulting)

ENR New York’s Best Overall Project Award Finalists for 2014 (in alphabetical order):

Historic Mystic Movable Bridge Rehabilitation

Novartis East Hanover Campus Transformation

West Brook Flood Control Project