New York

ENR New York Announces 2025 Best Projects Winners

jriceenr@gmail.com (Justin Rice) — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 14:32:50 -0400

Industry judges award 25 projects in the ENR New York Best Projects contest

Using Freedom-of-Information Statutes as a Legal Resource on Renovation Delays

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 04:19:00 -0500

The laws can provide paper and electronic documents concerning the causes of such delays and their disposition during the course of the work.

Experts: New York City Crew May Have Started Securing Crane Too Late

Tue, 09 Feb 2016 17:31:00 -0500

Did the crew working on the crane that collapsed in New York City Feb. 5 act soon enough and have enough time to secure the equipment?

New York City Office Space Hits Record

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Cortesy of Dodge Data & Analytics Office construction in New York City is at its highest level since 1990, according to a New York Building Congress analysis of multiple data sources.

NYC Mayor Announces $100 million of New Storm Protections

Mon, 31 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Aug. 27 announced $100 million in capital funding aimed at extending storm protection measures around lower Manhattan.

De Blasio Plans Development for Open NYCHA Space

zevina@enr.com (Alisa Zevin) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

After opposing former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed plan to fill open space owned by the New York City Housing Authority with mostly market rate housing, Mayor Bill de Blasio has revealed his own plan to help agency with its financial struggles.

James Lomma Ordered to Pay Victims in Crane Collapse

zevina@enr.com (Alisa Zevin) — Fri, 28 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Courtesy of Stephen Chernin, Associated Press After the longest civil trial in Manhattan Supreme Court history, a jury found James Lomma liable for the 2008 crane collapse that killed Donald Leo, 30, and Ramadan Kurtaj, 27—ordering the crane magnate to pay the families of the victims a total of $96 million.

Stevens Institute of Technology Students Build Hurricane Resistant Home

zevina@enr.com (Alisa Zevin) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Courtesy of SURE HOUSE The students at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J., have completed work on the SURE HOUSE, an energy efficient house that’s been built to better withstand storms with the force of Hurricane Sandy.

New York City Law Calls for Cooling Tower Inspections

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Courtesy of Associated Press The New York City Council on Aug. 13 passed legislation aimed at preventing the spread of diseases such as the outbreak of Legionnaire’s disease in the Bronx that has killed at least a dozen people.

Death of Construction Worker Leads to New Task Force

zevina@enr.com (Alisa Zevin) — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Courtesy of the District Attorney, New York County In conjunction with the New York City Dept. of Investigation, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey office of the inspector general

NY Metro Region Leads U.S. in Commercial, Multi-family Construction Starts

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

The New York City metropolitan area led the U.S. in commercial and multi-family construction starts in the first half of 2015 as measured by dollar value, according to Dodge Data & Analytics.

N.Y. Senator Schumer Proposes Agency to Alleviate Hudson Rail Tunnel Logjam

Wed, 12 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Photo courtesy of the office of Charles Schumer New York Senator Chuck Schumer on Tuesday took a step toward breaking the logjam over funding to repair and replace the rail tunnels that connect New York City and New Jersey.

Construction Company Charged with Manslaughter in Worker's Death

Thu, 06 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Two construction companies and two supervisors were charged with manslaughter and other crimes in the death of a worker who was crushed this year, authorities said Wednesday in announcing a task force to investigate misconduct in the booming building industry.

Building Permits in New York City Rise for Sixth Year

Mon, 03 Aug 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Chart courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of the Census Building permits issued in New York City rose for the sixth consecutive year, according to an analysis of data by the New York Building Congress. Permits authorizing construction rose 156% in Fiscal Year 2015 (July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015) compared with FY 2014 with 52,618 permits issued for residential units in the just ended fiscal year, according to NYBC analysis of U.S. Census data The number of permits rose in each of the five boroughs, but Brooklyn experienced a 225% increase with 23,326 dwelling units authorized for construction in

New York State Awards Microgrid Study Grants

Fri, 31 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Diagram courtesy of Clean Coalition New York is moving toward becoming one of the leading states in the nation in terms of microgrid installations. Earlier this month Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that 83 communities in the state would each receive grants of about $100,000 to support microgrid projects. The awards are part of the governor’s Reforming Energy Vision that aims to revamp the state’s energy regulatory structure and were administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).There is no official definition of a “microgrid,” but it is generally understood to be the opposite of the centrally

Cuomo Announces $4 billion Plan to Redevelop LaGuardia Airport

Tue, 28 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 28 unveiled a $4 billion construction project that aims to tear down and rebuild large parts of LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York. Image courtesy of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Pedestrian walkways, part of a $4 billion plan to develop LaGuardia Airport, would increase aircraft taxi space. The gateway project is being developed in concert with separate development efforts by Delta Air Lines, which operates in terminals A, C and D. “We are transforming LaGuardia into a globally-renowned, 21st century airport that is worthy of the city and state

Contractor Revenue Rises with Signs of More to Come in 2015

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Contractor revenue has risen steadily over the past several years, coming in at just under $20 billion in 2014 in ENR New York’s latest ranking of the 50 largest regional contractors.

People: New York

Mon, 20 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Christopher O. Ward has joined AECOM as senior vice president and CEO of design and consulting services for the metro New York region, months after leaving a top executive role he had held since 2011 at Dragados USA, a unit of the Spain-based contractor and concessions firm. He left the Dragados role as executive vice president for major projects at the end of 2014, telling Crain’s NY Business that the expected public-private-partnership construction market “was not as large as it had been.” The firm was part of a design-build team that had been short-listed for the $4-billion Tappan Zee replacement

Here Comes the Sun: Ciminelli's SolarCity Project

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Buffalo is a city known for snow. It is not the first place one would think to build a solar panel factory.

Lendlease Is on the Rise in New York City

Thu, 16 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Lendlease has been a beneficiary of the highly visible New York City building boom, leaving its mark on such projects as 10 City Point Place in downtown Brooklyn; the Delta Airlines terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens; and the high-end residential buildings sprouting up across the city.

Navy Yard Office Project Announced in Brooklyn

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

A joint initiative of Boston Properties Inc. Rudin Development and WeWork, in conjunction with the Brooklyn Navy Yard Development Corp. is developing a new 675,000-square-foot building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard to cater to the rapidly emerging technology and creative industries in Brooklyn. The $380 million building, Dock 72, will be one of the largest commercial buildings to be built outside of Manhattan in decades. Construction of the 16-story building is scheduled to begin in late 2015 with an anticipated tenant delivery in late 2017. The project will seek LEED certification. The site is centrally located within the Yard on a 60,000-square-foot strip

Solar Power Grew by 300% in New York State

Tue, 07 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Solar power in New York State grew more than 300% between 2011 and 2014, according to the office of Governor Andrew Cuomo. A total of 314.48 MW of solar facilities was installed across the state as of December 2014. Solar capacity tripled, quadrupled or quintupled in every region of the state other than Long Island, which has more installations than any other region. In addition, numbers of projects at least doubled in every region. The largest increase in percentage of megawatts was in the North Country, followed by the Finger Lakes, Central New York and New York City. In addition,

RAL/Oliver Joint Venture Wins Bidding for Pier 6 in Brooklyn

Fri, 03 Jul 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. has selected a developer and a new design plan for Pier 6, a controversial high-rise residence on the edge of a coastline park on the Brooklyn waterfront facing downtown Manhattan. The city controlled Brooklyn Bridge Park Corp. selected a joint venture of RAL Development Services and Oliver’s Realty Group to develop the two residential buildings from among the 14 bids submitted.The joint venture is making a $106 million upfront payment to acquire the long-term lease at the site and will also make annual payments on the 94-year lease, according to James Yolles, a spokesman for RAL.Community

New York State's Fracking Ban Now Official

Tue, 30 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation on Monday released its long-awaiting findings on hydraulic fracturing making official the state’s ban on the practice. The finding came after a seven-year review during which time fracking in New York was on hold. The ban took effect immediately and applies to any oil or gas wells that require more than 300,000 gallons of water to frack.“After years of exhaustive research and examination of the science and facts, prohibiting high-volume hydraulic fracturing is the only reasonable alternative," DEC Commissioner Joe Martens said. "High-volume hydraulic fracturing poses significant adverse impacts to land, air, water,

PSEG Long Island Picks Companies to Build 100 MW of Solar Projects

Thu, 11 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

PSEG Long Island has selected 55 entities to build 76 solar power projects totaling 100 MW at various locations on Long Island.The selected projects were chosen through the second phase of Long Island Power Authority’s Clean Solar Initiative Feed-in Tariff program. In the first phase of the FIT program, 50 MW of solar power projects were selected through a solicitation, and they entered service in 2014.PSEG operates LIPA’s transmission and distribution system.The winners in the FIT II program are in the process of securing power purchase agreements for the electrical output of their projects. The final bid price in the

Rigging Failure Likely Cause of Dropped Load Accident in Manhattan

Wed, 03 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

A rigging failure caused the air conditioning unit being lifted into place at 261 Madison Ave. in Manhattan to fall to the street 28 stories below on May 31, according to an investigator on the scene.The massive unit hit the step-backed building as it fell, raining debris on Madison Ave. between 38th and 39th streets and injuring eight people in the area and two construction workers.There were some reports that the unit fell as it was being put into place or that the floor cracked or gave way as the unit was being moved into place. “None of those are

Indicators Point to Strong NYC Construction Market, Says NYBC

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

Indicators point to continued strength in the New York City construction market, according to recent reports from the New York Building Congress. Both spending on construction and construction employment are up strongly, indicating a stronger market than NYBC anticipated in its October forecast. “If the trend continues in 2015, we can expect to see construction employment reach 130,000 for just the second time in this decade,” Richard T. Anderson, NYBC president, said. At the end of May, NYBC reported that private sector construction employment in New York City rose 4.5% in 2014 and 10% since 2012. Construction employment also rose

Rigging Could Be Cause of Manhattan Crane Accident

Tue, 02 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

A rigging failure caused the air conditioning unit being lifted into place at 261 Madison Ave. in Manhattan to fall to the street 28 stories below on May 31, according to an investigator on the scene. The massive unit hit the step-backed building as it fell, raining debris on Madison Ave. between 38th and 39th streets and injuring eight people in the area and two construction workers. There were some reports that the unit fell as it was being put into place or that the floor cracked or gave way as the unit was being moved into place. “None of

Crane Accident Injures 10 in Manhattan

Mon, 01 Jun 2015 12:00:00 -0400

A massive air conditioning unit being lifted into place on a 28- story building in Midtown Manhattan on Sunday morning broke free, ricocheting off the tiered building and landing the street below. Ten people were injured, including two construction workers, none with life-threatening injuries. The other people injured were either pedestrians or occupants of passing cars. Traffic was restricted to a single lane on Madison Ave. between 38th and 39th streets, during the lifting operation. The building, 261 Madison Ave., is owned by The Sapir Organization. It was not clear at press time if the accident was a result of

Up, Down, Side to Side: Columbia's New Campus Rumbles to Life

Mon, 25 May 2015 12:00:00 -0400

The bustle across Columbia University's emerging Manhattanville Campus is offering a rare window on a mega-development that has not only reshaped a neighborhood but has also become a showcase for innovation.