ACEC New York
6 Airline Drive
Albany, NY 12205 acecny@acecny.org T 518.452.8611
F 518.452.1710
60 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10165
T 212.682.6336
F 212.818.0286
ACEC New York will sponsor Doing Business with OGS. A program with NYS Office of General Services (OGS) will be held on Wednesday, July 21, at the ACEC New York Albany Office. OGS will give an overview of the agency and offer dos and don’ts of how to do business with them. The session is intended to be interactive so participants are invited to bring questions. Prior to the program a 1.5 hr pdh course will be offered on Seismic Design Requirements for Buildings and Building Components. Please click here to download the registration form.
2011 Call for Entries: Engineering Excellence. Has your firm designed a project that deserves recognition? Did your firm design a project that required your engineering ingenuity and creativity to help your client achieve their goal? Did you use innovative means to help define what can be done through the collaborative process? Did your firm test the boundaries of project delivery to make sure that a project was successful? Did you work on a project that was unique and needed special attention and solutions?
If you answered yes to any of these, your firm should enter ACEC New York’s 2011 Engineering Excellence Competition. This event is the premier engineering awards program in the country with more entries and the largest awards dinner of all the ACECs throughout the country. Per the Program Guidelines, the preliminary entry form is due on July 16 and final entries on September 24. The Empire Award will be awarded to the highest rated project designed and built in New York State. The Engineering Excellence Awards will be presented at a black-tie dinner dance at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel, NY on Saturday, March 26, 2011. Save the date!
Congratulations to the 3rd Annual ACEC New York Leadership Institute Class. The class of 2010 received plaques in recognition of completion of the course at the Roosevelt Hotel during the Annual Meeting on June 16. This year a total of 28 members graduated from sessions that were held in both NYC and Rochester:
Shahid
Akhar
Gina R.
Potfora
Erich
Arcement
Michael B.
Pratt
Elizabeth C.
Burkhart
Nicholas
Presciutti
Mark S.
Coon, L.S.
R. Scott
Prior
Thomas James
Fandrich
Sheila A.
Ransbottom.
Alan J.
Giantomaso
Joann M.
Slavin
Steve N.
Highfill
Peter T.
Sutherland
Robert W.
Huttermann
Alberto
Villaman
Dennis R.
Judson
Timothy G
Walck
Jenny
Kapelyan
Edward
Watts
Sui Y.
Leong
Matthew G.
Weber
Aileen
Maguire Meyer
Jeffrey R.
Woods
Dominic
Pagani
Qi
Ye
Paul B.
Pizzimenti
Yusuf
Poonawala
ACEC New York’s Fourth Leadership Institute offers two programs in 2010-2011. ACEC New York is currently accepting applications for two leadership courses starting this fall, one in Manhattan and one in Albany. The program, taught by Olin and Laura Jennings of The Jennings Group, develops future leaders needed to grow engineering organizations and create a more vibrant, dynamic and profitable place to work. This program includes nine sessions plus an individual one-on-one session. Classes are scheduled to begin in October as long as we receive registrations from 15 - 20 participants. If you are interested in the program, please review the 2010-2011 brochure and contact Gina Potfora, Director of Member Services at gina@acecny.org or 518 452-8611 if you have any questions.
Annual Meeting June 16, 2010. The Roosevelt Hotel was the setting for this year’s ACEC New York Annual Meeting. Awards were presented to William P. McCormick, New Principal of the Year, Larry V. Fairchild, Engineer of the Year and Mayor Michael B. Bloomberg, Chairman’s Award. Fatma Amer, First Deputy Commissioner, New York City Buildings Department accepted the award on behalf of the Mayor and read his letter of thanks out loud to the members. For a copy of the awards press release, please click here.
Paul Grosser, Executive Committee Member, ACEC, swore in the officers and new Board of Directors for 2010-2011 and Bob Radley passed the gavel to 2010-2011 Chairman, Neil Lucey, Parsons Brinckerhoff.
Patrick J. O'Keefe, Director of Economic Research, J.H. Cohn, Kenneth D. Simonson, Chief Economist, Associated General Contractors of America, and James E. Glassman, Managing Director & Senior Economist, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presented the morning program “Trends in the Economy”. The presentations can be downloaded from our members’ only page on the website.
ACEC New York receives ACEC Minuteman Matching Grant. ACEC awarded a $25,000 matching grant to ACEC New York to counter the Public Employees Federation (PEF) attack on the use of private consultants for public works projects. A portion of the funds were used to design and place an advertisement titled NYS Can Save Millions on Infrastructure Projects that was featured in the Albany Times Union newspaper on June 6th and 8th.
Life Member Arnold Windman, ACEC New York President 1981-82, Dead at 83. Arnold Windman spent his entire 40-year career with Syska & Hennessy in New York City, and participated in iconic projects such as the United Nations Building, LAX Terminal, Lincoln Center, and The National Gallery of Art. He rose to vice-chairman of the firm and was instrumental in its rapid growth both domestically and internationally. In addition to his work at the state level, Arnold Windman also served as Chairman of the national ACEC from 1985 to 1986.
ACEC New York/NYSDOT Liaison Committee Meeting. Please visit the ACEC New York members only page on our website to download the committee meeting minutes.
State Nominations Announced. Both Democratic and Republican conventions were held this month, each deciding their party’s nominee for state-wide offices for the November elections. Considering the anti-incumbent movement and the rise of the Tea Party, it should certainly make for an interesting election season. Here is the list of nominees:
New York State Governor Republican
Rick Lazio – Managing director, J.P. Morgan Chase Democrat
Andrew Cuomo - State Attorney General
U.S. Senator Republican
David Malpass – Founder and president, Encima Global
Bruce Blakeman – Attorney in private practice Democrat
Charles Schumer - Incumbent
Kirsten Gillibrand - Incumbent
New York State Attorney General Republican
Dan Donovan – Staten Island DA Democrat
Eric Schneiderman – State Senator
Kathleen Rice – Nassau County DA
Richard Brodsky –Assemblyman
Eric Dinallo – Former state superintendent of insurance
Sean Coffey – Trial lawyer
New York State Comptroller Republican
Harry Wilson – Hedge fund partner Democrat
Thomas DiNapoli - Incumbent
NYS Budget Update. The legislature passed Governor Paterson’s multiple emergency budget extenders, in order to keep the state from shutting down. The extenders pass the Assembly with no problem, due to the large majority, but the Senate is always a nail biter. The approved extenders allows the government to continue functioning in the absence of an agreed upon budget. Although negotiations remain ongoing, there is still no budget in place. As a consequence, the state has been operating on a series of one-week budget extenders since the beginning of the fiscal year in April. There is very little room for amendments in the extenders. If the extenders were rejected, state government would be forced to shut down. With the passage of the weekly extenders, at this point nearly 60% of the final budget has been passed, with more than $1 billion in cuts and cost savings.
At the most recent legislative leaders meeting, Governor Paterson pledged to have a state budget passed by Monday, June 28th. Both Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said that the full budget could be passed prior to the Governor’s deadline. However, one sticking point is the Governor’s steadfast objection to any borrowing to close the $9.2 billion budget gap.
Rochester and Western Region Lobby Days. Members traveled to Albany to meet with their local legislators to introduce ACEC New York to those who were unfamiliar and to discuss our most pertinent legislative priorities. We have had more than 80 meetings in the past weeks, gaining face time with legislators, adding more and more sponsors and supporters to our bills, and offering our services as a resource. Legislators have taken time to meet with us, meet their constituents and have thanked us for taking the time to travel to Albany and coordinate meetings. Members left feeling accomplished and hopeful that our bills will finally pass this year. A special thanks to those who have participated in Lobby Days. The effort put forth shows great camaraderie within the industry and shows a unified and professional voice.
Legislative Priorities. Our Qualifications Based Selection (QBS) bill is tapped to pass the Senate within the next 2 weeks. If it does, the Governor will most likely sign it into law. This would be a victory for us, in that we have been pushing QBS for the public authorities for some time now. Legislators believe this is truly the best way to bid out projects, because the best designers will be on the job. Since this bill has already passed the Assembly, we are hopeful no other issues arise to get it through the Senate.
Our Forms of Practice bill seems to have hit another road block, yet again, in the legislative session. After completing 8 lobby days, meeting with over 80 legislators, and explaining our case, it seems that the Assembly is not going to address it this session.
ACEC New York joins with Other Industry Associations Urging End to State Budget Impasse. On June 10th, Jay Simson joined leaders from the New York Building Congress, General Contractors Association and AIA/New York Chapter in an open letter urging the Governor and members of the NYS Legislature to enact a State budget. Please click here to read the letter.
Beardsley Design Associates Architecture, Engineering & Landscape Architecture, P.C. is pleased to announce that Douglas E. Porter has earned his Engineer in Training Certification in the State of New York and Jared R. Heinl has earned his Professional Engineer’s license in the State of New York.
The C&S Companies are proud to welcome Jim Olcott as the firm’s new energy department manager. Jim has more than fifteen years of energy project development experience throughout the Northeast. He brings significant commodity consulting experience to the firm through his many years of advising on traditional and renewable procurement strategies. Jim previously directed teams of engineers with Siemens Energy Solutions. Jim expands C&S’s capabilities in master energy planning, clean and renewable generation, supply management, and micro-grid advancements. Jim is a graduate of both the University of Maine and St. Lawrence University.
Creighton Manning Engineering is pleased to announce the addition of Linda Stancliffe as a Landscape Architect in the Site Design group. Linda is a CLARB Certified Landscape Architect with licenses in New York, Maine and Pennsylvania as well as a LEED Accredited Professional. She graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from the College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. She brings 18 years of experience in site design, storm water management systems, streetscapes, trails, pedestrian accommodations, environmental impact statements and SEQR documentation to the firm. Linda has been responsible for managing and designing numerous civil/site design projects in the Capital Region and throughout the Northeast.
Creighton Manning Engineering was recognized on June 10th during the 2010 ITS-NY Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony for designing the Outstanding ITS Project of the Year. Troy ITS Signal Improvements Phase II is a $3 million locally administered Federal aid design project completed for the City of Troy. The project involves the rehabilitation of 22 traffic signals in an historic downtown. The NTCIP compliant signal system was designed to provide multiple coordination plans all controlled by a central computer system. An ITS systems engineering analysis was prepared to ensure compatibility with the Capital District Regional ITS Architecture to facilitate future integration into the regional transportation management system.
Peter Melewski, PE, has joined HNTB Corporation as associate vice president who will help lead the firm’s new Albany office. He brings more than 28 years of experience with transportation, planning, asset management, public involvement and environmental stewardship. In his new role at HNTB Corporation, Melewski will be responsible for expanding HNTB’s presence in the Capital District and Upstate New York via a multi-disciplined office providing planning, design, program management, construction management, and public/private partnering opportunities. Currently the office is working on projects such as the Lake Champlain Bridge Replacement, the New York State High-Speed Rail Corridor Study and the Albany Convention Center
H2M is proud to announce that Kenneth R. Gehringer, AIA, CSI, CCCA, has been elected as the new Vice President for the Northeast Region of The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI). CSI is a national association dedicated to creating standards and formats to improve construction documents and project delivery.
AKF has been selected to be a NYSERDA FlexTech Consultant in the New York downstate region. FlexTech's primary goal is to help identify cost effective energy efficiency measures for existing buildings. NYSERDA will cost-share up to 50% and pay AKF directly for our services related to energy studies
M.J. is pleased to announce the opening of a land surveying and engineering office in Melville. The move is a result of an increased demand for our engineering and survey services throughout Long Island. The new office will be managed by Stavros Timotheau, PLS, Vice President of New York District Operations.
Parsons Brinckerhoff is pleased to announce that Neil Lucey, P.E. has been named a Senior Vice President in the New York office of PB.
T.Y. Lin International (TYLI), a globally recognized full-service infrastructure consulting firm, announced that Joseph (Joe) Pizzurro, P.E., has been named Director of Transit/Rail Engineering for its NYC office. Pizzurro will be responsible for leading teams of professionals on projects for various transit/rail agencies, such as MTA Metro-North Railroad, MTA Long Island Railroad, MTA New York City Transit, New Jersey Transit, Amtrak, Port Authority of NY and NJ, and other transportation agencies in the New York Metropolitan area.
Tectonic Engineering and Surveying Consultants P.C. has once again made the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firms list and the Top 20 Telecommunications list. Tectonic ranked #244 among the top 500 firms providing design services, up 88 places from last year. Tectonic also ranked #16 on the list’s top 20 firms providing Telecommunication services.
LaBella Associates, P.C. is pleased to announce the opening of an Ithaca, NY office. The new office is located at Clinton Hall, 114 N. Cayuga Street - Suite 1, Ithaca, NY 14850. Phone: 607.319.4136. LaBella Associates is full service architecture, engineering, environmental consulting and planning firm headquartered in Rochester, NY. The firm also has offices in Hornell, NY and Coudersport, PA.
Delta Engineers, Architects, & Land Surveyors, P.C., is pleased to announce that Ying Liu, PE has recently joined the Specialty Precast Concrete Department.
Save the Dates! The Fall Conference will be held at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, NY from Sunday, September 12 to Tuesday, September 14, 2010. Please click here for a save the date card.
Urban Green Council Series on theGreener, Greater Buildings Plan, NYC. From May to July, the Council will offer a 1st Wednesday Roundtable series focused on reviewing each of the legislative initiatives and featuring experts from the public and private sectors who are directly involved with the roll-out criteria for implementation. The first session in the series will address the benchmarking bill. For more information please click here.
Approved Sponsor
ACEC New York is an authorized provider of continuing education for registered architects, professional engineers and land surveyors in New York State. Courses approved by ACEC New York are now acceptable for both engineering and architectural credits in New York State.
As an approved sponsor organization for continuing education, ACEC New York may approve courses for certification. Members need to submit a course application and related materials.
Call for Web Seminars!
ACEC New York is seeking two-hour courses to be offered throughout the year as web seminars. Courses are sought for all engineering disciplines. ACEC New York, with our partner Contract Solutions Group, will review the course material for free and provide training on how to present via the web. If you need information or have a course to offer, contact gina@acecny.org
Self-Study Courses Self-Study Courses. ACEC New York and Contract Solutions Group (CSG) have teamed up to offer our web seminars as self-study courses. Currently, ACEC New York has twenty courses in our library, each worth between 1 and 2 professional development hours. The courses may be ordered from CSG. Each course package contains: instructions, the power point presentation - printed and electronic, audio from the program (embedded in the PowerPoint), and a 10-question quiz. For each successfully completed program determined by a score of 70% or greater on the required quiz a certificate of credit hours will be issued. If you participated in the LIVE webinar, you will not earn credits for the self-study course. Engineers may earn 18 self-study credits during each three-year registration period. To order your courses click on the order form. If you have any questions you can contact gina@acecny.org or jjennings@contractsolutionsgroup.com.
Governors Island. Help us to continue to support the Governors Island Alliance by visiting the Island this summer to enjoy cool breezes and water views in almost 70 acres of green space that is now accessible to the public. By visiting the island, we will help demonstrate the need to additional open/recreational space in the city and support continued investment in the island. For more information please visit www.governorsislandalliance.com
Adopt-a-School Program – Member Opportunity. Trilogy Publications has launched an Adopt-a-School Program to coordinate sponsors with schools requesting a copy of the full color publication, Those AmazingEngineers, for their upper elementary classrooms. If you are interested in sponsoring the purchase of books for a specific school please click here for more information.
