STA Pushes for Escrow Bill

The Subcontractors Trade Association is pressing for a bill to set aside accrued interest on subcontractor payments held in retainage. Also, several projects win N.Y. Construction User Council honors.

Subcontractors Seek Escrow Bill

The Subcontractors Trade Association of New York has been urging its members this year to push for the passage of a bill in New York's State Senate that would require owners of large private construction projects to place retained funds for contractors into an interest-bearing escrow account.

Senate Bill 2547, sponsored by Sen. Kemp Hannon of Long Island would require private owners of projects valued at more than $250,000 to allow interest growth on retainage held on progress payments for contractors. It was in committee as of early summer. A companion bill passed the State Assembly unanimously in May.

Under current industry practice, owners hold 5 to 15 percent of payment for work already performed for up to a year or more, according to the STA. The association argues that subcontractors should benefit from the interest gain on held funds. It contends that the gain would dissuade subcontractors from raising prices in order to compensate for the loss of working capital and borrowing power.

New York City Projects Lauded

The Greater New York Construction User Council, a network of owners and users of construction services, recognized six New York City projects at its annual Chairman's Reception. The event took place at one of the honored projects, 7 World Trade Center, in June.

The projects recognized were:

• 7 World Trade Center as Most Outstanding Downtown Project

• the Astoria Energy 500-MW Power Plant as Outstanding Infrastructure Project

• the Museum of Modern Art as Outstanding Cultural Project

• Times Square Tower and 7 Times Square, both as Outstanding Office Project

• a new Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center facility as Outstanding Healthcare Project, and

• the Elevated Acre at 55 Water Street as Outstanding Public Space Project.

The council also presented Michael Gabbay, senior vice president at Plaza Construction of New York, with its Outstanding Individual award. Gabbay is also the immediate past chairman of the council.

ACE Mentor Awards Scholarships

The Architecture, Construction and Engineering Mentor Program of New Jersey recently awarded scholarships to 16 area high school students.

The top $4,000 scholarship went to Gerardy Cabrera of Technology High School in Newark. ACE also awarded six $2,000 scholarships and ten $1,000 scholarships.

Founded in 2000 to promote careers in design and construction, the ACE program has since awarded $182,000 to New Jersey high school students.

Organizations that sponsored the scholarships included Thornton Tomasetti, the Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey, Hill International, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Howard Horii, Public Service Electric and Gas, URS Corp., the New Jersey Institute of Technology, NJ K-12 Architects/Katiria Diaz, and New York Construction.

BOMA Honors Trump-Cappelli

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Westchester County recently held its annual awards program honoring individuals, buildings, and organizations for their contributions to the county's economy.

BOMA recognized both the Trump Organization of New York and Cappelli Enterprises >> of Valhalla, N.Y., the joint venture behind the recently completed $150 million Trump Tower in White Plains, N.Y., and the 30-story Trump Plaza, currently under construction in New Rochelle. BOMA also honored the Business Council of Westchester for its contributions to the county's economy.

The association gave its Distinguished Service award to David Marks of Albert B. Ashforth Co., a corporate real estate brokerage based in Stamford, Conn.

BOMA also named 17 Skyline Drive in Hawthorne, N.Y., as its Office Building of the Year in the under-100,000 sq. ft. category. Other top office buildings of the year were 140 Grand St. in White Plains, N.Y., for projects between 100,000 and 250,000 sq. ft.; 50 Main St. in White Plains, N.Y., for projects ranging between 250,000 and 500,000 sq. ft.; and the MBIA Insurance building in Armonk, N.Y., in the corporate facility category.

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