December 2024

MONTROSE, NY—New Yorkers deserve better roads, and for far too long state lawmakers have fallen short in their investment in our region’s transportation networks. That was the core message voiced by a group of road and bridge advocates as well as state and local politicians on Thurs., Dec. 5 as the state heads into the 2025 budget season.

NEW YORK—As the first of its kind in the nation, New York City is set to launch the modified congestion pricing tolling plan for downtown Manhattan on Jan. 5, 2025. At least eight lawsuits have been filed to block the plan, which the Federal Highway Administration approved on Nov. 21.

NEW YORK—State and city officials hailed the New York City Council’s passage on Dec. 5 of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ “City of Yes” zoning proposal that is expected to create 80,000 new homes in the five boroughs and spur billions of dollars in investment.
Characterized as “the most pro-housing zoning proposal in New York City history,” the plan’s passage comes as the city confronts a generational housing crisis with a 1.4% rental vacancy rate. The measure passed by a 31-20 margin.

TARRYTOWN, NY—Rebuild New York Now warned that steps must be immediately taken to rectify the further deterioration of road and bridge quality and conditions in New York State.

NEW YORK—New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced two project labor agreements (PLAs) with the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York that will cover more than $1 billion in construction projects throughout the term of the agreements. These include generational infrastructure improvements in Willets Point in Queens and letters of intent on PLAs for tens of billions of dollars in additional project work in the city.

This column has often extolled the virtues of the mechanic’s lien as a powerful tool to assist unpaid contractors to get paid for their work. This tool, as a creation of statute, balances the power of the lien by offering protections for the party against whom the lien is filed. One of these protections is the ability of the party against whom the lien is filed to demand an itemized statement of the items comprising the lien, which is to be sworn to by the lienor.

ALBANY—The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York recently announced it had closed on a $500-million bond issuance for White Plains Hospital.

Construction NEWS Photo Gallery

The 2024 Republican Presidential campaign and transition committee has endorsed several economic and tax-related policy proposals. Basically, it supports extending the expiring provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and recommends additional reductions in the corporate tax rate to 15%. In addition, the committee favors eliminating income taxes on Social Security benefits. The committee has also put forward several trade policy proposals to impose new taxes on imported goods and services, including a 10% across-the-board tariff on all imports and much higher targeted tariffs. Key implementation details, however, are yet to be decided.