Westchester to Spend $385M on County Projects, Execs Told at CIC-BCA Membership Meeting
By JOHN JORDAN
WHITE PLAINS—More than 125 executives with the Hudson Valley’s construction and building trades attended the 2025 spring membership meeting of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley and the Building Contractors Association of Westchester & The Mid-Hudson Region, which was held at the Sonesta White Plains Downtown hotel here on April 23.
A highlight of the evening was a welcoming speech from Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, who a short time later gave his first State of the County Address across town at the Westchester County Office Building. Mr. Jenkins told the CIC/BCA gathering that the county has earmarked $385 million for its capital budget in 2025.
“No matter the chaos and other things that are happening at other levels, we are going to continue to move forward on the investments we have already decided on,” Mr. Jenkins said. “So, there is no challenge for us to make sure $385 million gets out on the street.”
Mr. Jenkins discussed the ongoing Glen Island Bridge project in New Rochelle as well as work at Rye Playland. He noted that the county has spent approximately $150 million at Playland so far with more work to come for the building trades.
Mr. Jenkins vowed that the amusement park will open for the season after its controversial contract discord with Standard Amusements but at the session could not provide a specific opening date. He also explained new proposed apprenticeship legislation and modified responsible bidder language that he recently signed into law.
On May 7, he announced that Rye Playland would be open on Memorial Day weekend. In an effort to make the park more accessible and welcoming for all, parking at Playland will be reduced to $10, and admission to the park will be completely free for Memorial Day Weekend.
Mr. Jenkins said, “As we work through this 2025 season, Playland will be totally free Memorial Day weekend for people to enjoy. We all love Playland—it’s a part of all of us—and we need it to be a part of our summer.”
The CIC/BCA featured meeting speaker, Richard Juliano, IOM, CAE, the general counsel of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) in Washington D.C., discussed the evolving initiatives being advanced by the Trump administration, including tariffs and their impacts on the economy and the construction industry.
Mr. Juliano said that ARTBA’s concern is how will those (tariffs) eventually affect project costs. “Specifically, we would like to see the Federal Highway Administration make federal dollars available to defray some of those costs.”
The session also included a tag-team presentation on three new state laws involving wage theft, contractor registration and “piggybacking” of public contracts, presented by Thomas H. Welby, Esq., and Gregory J. Spaun, Esq., of the law firm Welby, Brady & Greenblatt, LLP.
Sponsors of the CIC/BCA Spring 2025 meeting were: Advance Testing Company, Inc., American Global LLC, Byram Concrete & Supply, LLC
EP George Inc., Laborers Local 60, NYS Laborers LECET, Operating Engineers Local 137, RCA Asphalt, LLC, Welby, Brady & Greenblatt, LLP.
Published: May 15, 2025.