Author name: niallogara

ELMSFORD, NY—Teamsters Local 456 held an information session on Jan. 11 at the union’s headquarters here, entitled “Drug Testing Protocols & Procedures,” for companies with trucking operations that employ any worker using a commercial driver’s license (CDL) as well as for those who are owner/operators of commercial motor vehicles.

ALBANY—Housing costs in New York City and the surrounding suburbs have skyrocketed by more than 68% over the last decade, the largest increase among selected major metropolitan areas in the U.S., according to a new report from New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli released on Jan. 12.

The decision in Secretary of Labor v. Brubacher Excavating Inc. & Traffic Control Services reminds us that construction companies conducting paving and excavation operations in public roadways must take efforts to protect both their workers and the public by maintaining proper and adequate traffic control devices. Moreover, the facts in this matter are typical for construction sites where, due to personnel needs, companies send a different set of employees to the same jobsite over the course of multiple days, further emphasizing the need for consistent coordination and communication.

With transit-oriented development projects on the rise, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is also continuing its redevelopment efforts at three major airports. All the while, groundbreaking has finally begun on the Gateway Program in New Jersey and New York.

ALBANY—New York State is making $325 million in grants available for clean water infrastructure projects through the next round of the state’s Water Infrastructure Improvement and Intermunicipal Grant programs. Applications and full eligibility criteria will become available at efc.ny.gov on Mon., Feb. 5.

SUFFERN, NY—In addition to the $1.8-billion expansion Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is now advancing in Westchester County, the company announced it will invest another $138 million in Rockland County to renovate a former Avon Products facility for its research and development functions.

A roundup of what’s new and who’s in the news both locally and in the state.

Low bid news from around the state.

NEW HAMPTON, NY—The New York State Dormitory Authority said on Dec. 14 that it has released the first bid in connection with the “New Forensic Replacement Hospital and HAZMAT Abatement” at the Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center here in Orange County. The facility was slated for closure by the State Department of Health under a consolidation plan released in 2013, but the DOH reversed itself and announced it would remain open.