August 2024

VALHALLA, NY—In late July, officials of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, local officials in Westchester and construction professionals threw the ceremonial “first dirt” to mark the start of the massive $1.9-billion new water tunnel that, when completed, will stretch two miles—from the Kensico Reservoir in Central Westchester to the Catskill Delaware Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility in Eastview.

VALHALLA, NY—New York State Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado was among the many dignitaries that joined Westchester Medical Center Health Network’s leadership on July 24 to commemorate the start of construction for the Critical Care Tower at Westchester Medical Center.

OSSINING, NY—A host of elected officials celebrated the official groundbreaking for the new Indian Brook Water Treatment Plant—the largest infrastructure project in Ossining’s history. It is also one of the largest municipal capital projects in memory in this northwest section of Westchester—and it’s the largest potable water treatment plant in development in the Northeast, according to many village and town officials of Ossining present Tues., Aug. 6.

WASHINGTON—More than $450 billion in infrastructure spending has already been awarded to states and cities through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021. That’s the good news.

NEW YORK—The Permanent Citizen’s Advisory Committee to the MTA released a new report earlier this month entitled “Funding the MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Plan: Evaluating Proposed Alternatives to Congestion Pricing.” The panel examined how Congestion Pricing compares to eight of the more noteworthy alternative schemes. All proposals failed to tackle the issues of traffic reduction and steps to improve air quality, the report noted.

MAMARONECK, NY — New York State officials announced on Aug. 2 that major construction was completed on a project that reconstructed the bridge carrying U.S. Route 1 over the Mamaroneck River in the Town of Mamaroneck.

This column often stresses the important provisions to include in construction contracts. Among them are thorough indemnification clauses, dispute resolution provisions and adequate insurance provisions. There are many others of course, including perhaps the most important one as illustrated by the recent case of Providence Construction Corp. v Silverite Construction Co., Inc. The court denied a motion for summary judgment on what should have been a straightforward contract claim. Now the parties are required to endure a trial. The court’s decision reminds us that the one thing to include in a contract more than anything else is clarity.

As of mid-2024 most reports of the U.S. economy were positive, despite geopolitical uncertainty, lower inflation, the prospect of interest rate cuts, and continued employment growth suggesting a strong economy for the rest of 2024. Within the commercial real estate space, most asset types are benefitting from demand growth, but the overall industry outlook is mixed due to headwinds such as overbuilding in the multifamily sector and vacant office space—an overhang from the Covid pandemic.

NEW YORK—On Tuesday (Aug. 6) the New York City Council’s Committee on Land Use voted to approve the Bronx Metro-North Station Area Study rezoning proposal with modifications. The rezoning will pave the way for the development of thousands of units of new affordable housing and invest in neighborhood infrastructure improvements surrounding new Metro-North train stations to be built or improved in the Bronx as part of the more than $3-billion Penn Station Access Project, which is currently under construction.

ALBANY—New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Tuesday (July 30) that the state will provide $54 million to support utility work that will allow the Second Avenue Subway project to proceed while state lawmakers address the massive capital funding gap caused by the recent decision by the governor to put the congestion pricing tolling program on pause.