A market profile released in January by the New York Building Congress has found that the city’s real estate and construction industry generates $60.8 billion in annual revenue and accounts for more than 275,000 private sector jobs.

The report, entitled “Bedrock of the Economy: The New York City Building Industry,” compiled a series of data points about the industry’s activity, its impact on the economy, its workers, and its various sectors. The congress and its affiliate, the New York Building Foundation, prepared the report with the help of Urbanomics, a New York-based economic consulting firm.

Among the findings was a sign that concerns over an aging skilled workforce may be misplaced. The report found that the average age of today’s construction worker in New York City is 40, down from 51 ten years ago. The highest proportion of workers was between ages 35 to 39 and the largest cohort was between 30 and 50.

In addition, the report found that 47 percent of all building industry workers were born abroad. Of those, it found that 69 percent who arrived in the United States during the 1970s have since become U.S. citizens. Similarly, 44 percent who arrived in the 1980s have gained citizenship.

Other findings include:

• The industry’s 275,000 jobs at about 31,500 firms tilts most toward the construction sector, which has 123,200 jobs. The real estate sector has 90,300 jobs, and architecture and engineering firms have 31,600 positions. Another 190,000 jobs are in building services or in construction-related positions in fields such as law, accounting, and catering.

• Construction work contributed $27.4 billion in economic activity to New York City in 2005, the most recent year full data was available. Real estate, leasing, and property management generated $25.9 billion in activity.

• Industry payrolls amounted to nearly $14 billion, with the highest average annual wage of $68,900 found in the heavy and civil construction sector, followed by $68,000 in architectural and engineering services.

• Three of four building industry workers both live and work in New York City. In the construction sector alone, 72% of all workers lived and worked in the city.

The full report can be viewed at www.buildingcongress.com/code/bedrock.

Development of a new community center and affordable housing complex in Coney Island will soon be under way as part of a strategic plan to again turn the famous Brooklyn strip into an attractive destination.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the selection of Coney Island Commons LLC to develop the new $56 million complex. The residential component of the project will have 152 cooperative residential units, more than 75% of which will be priced for low- and middle-income families. As part of the project, the YMCA of Greater New York will own and operate a 40,000-sq-ft community center.

Construction is set to begin in fall 2008 and finish in summer 2009. The project will feature sustainable design elements such as energy-efficient mechanical systems, extensive use of natural lighting, and green roofs.

The residential component calls for construction of two buildings, one seven stories and the other 11 stories high, together totaling about 160,000 sq ft, with studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom co-op units, as well as a landscaped open space and parking lot. Some of the residential portion will be financed through the city Housing Development Corporation’s Affordable Cooperative Housing Program and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation.

Coney Island Commons, which consists of ELH Management, KB Companies, and Galaxy General Contracting, won the city’s RFP issued last May. The city will sell the property to the developer for $1 and contribute $5 million toward the construction of the center.

The community center, meanwhile, will feature an aquatic center with a six-lane lap pool and family recreational lap pool, a gymnasium, fitness and multi-purpose rooms, and office space.

The strategic plan, developed by New York City officials and the Coney Island Development Corporation, was unveiled in September 2005 and calls for reestablishing the district as a hub of amusement, seaside attractions, entertainment, and affordable housing.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg recently signed bills passed by the City Council aiming to increase the penalties for illegal construction activities as well as a bill to update the city’s electrical code.

One new bill increases the penalty for failing to comply with a stop-work order issued by the Department of Buildings, which the agency can issue any time building work is being performed in a dangerous or unsafe manner, or is otherwise in violation of the law or a city regulation. The bill boosts the penalties for those who continue to work after receiving such an order by assessing first-time violators with a $2,000 fine, second-time violators a $5,000 fine, and third and subsequent violators with $10,000 fines.

The law also allows assessment of fines of up to $15,000 under an alternative sentencing structure as well as imprisonment of up to six months. For work performed without a permit on all structures other than one- and two-family dwellings, the new law also ups the penalty to 14 times the permit fee and not less than $5,000.

The city also adopted a law that applies new revisions to the National Electrical Code, a guideline prepared by the National Fire Protection Association, to the city’s electrical code, as well as legislation that hikes criminal and civil penalties for performing demolition work without a permit on one or two-family dwellings, upping the maximums to $10,000 fines and six months in jail. 

The New York metropolitan area is about to add a fourth major regional airport to the mix after John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, and Newark Liberty International airports.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized the purchase of the operating lease at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., in January. The agency spent $78.5 million to acquire the 93-year lease from National Express.

The agency’s leaders have already pledged to make investments into the facility to transform it into a large transportation center that will reduce passenger and freight flight congestion at the other regional hubs. The facility currently handles 300,000 passengers on its 2,400-acre tract, compared to LaGuardia’s 26 million passengers on its tight 680 acres.

The Port Authority would take over by October, but is awaiting authorizing legislation from New Jersey legislators. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine has already said that he supports the move.