News

Toward the end of 2022 a computer program known as ChatGPT—a form of artificial intelligence—burst into the public consciousness with the possibility of revolutionizing communications. Artificial intelligence, broadly defined, is the simulation of human intelligence by computers.

ALBANY—The New York State Legislature passed before the end of the legislative session last week the “Roadway Excavation Quality Assurance Act” (S4887, A5608), which “provides that utility companies or their contractors shall use competent workers and shall pay the prevailing wage on projects where a permit to use, excavate, or open a street is required to be issued.”

The use of potentially hazardous and dangerous substances such as propane, propylene and compressed oxygen, which are common in the construction industry, need to be handled and used with proper care to avoid work-place accidents.

The 179D tax deduction provides building owners a deduction for new or remodeled commercial buildings that meet specific energy-efficient qualifications. This deduction is also available to designers of buildings owned by government entities and non-profit organizations.

Knollwood Country Club, Elmsford, NY
June 6, 2023 – 88 Golfers, 114 Dinner Guests
Participated in 66th Annual Golf Outing.

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

WEST NYACK, NY—Local motorists, truckers and residents voiced their opinions here at the Palisades Center on May 16 over the New York State Thruway Authority’s proposal to increase revenues to help finance its ambitious and needed $1.9-billion 2023-2027 capital plan.

ALBANY—As vehicle traffic returns to pre-pandemic levels, the New York State Thruway Authority is facing a significant funding backlog in coming years, according to a report released recently by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit based in Washington, DC.

NEWBURGH, NY—Despite the headlines of a population surge three years ago into the Hudson Valley region from New York City as Gothamists sought the safety of rural downstate counties, a new analysis of the population shift during the pandemic tells a slightly different story. The region lost 4,845 people due to migration to locations outside the region. A leading research firm released a report May 3 that chronicled the Hudson Valley’s population loss during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 and 2020.