Trade Mentor Program Launched in N.J.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey (MCANJ), a member of the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Labor Management Council, has established an Architecture, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Mentor Program for the building trades. Students in the program visit job sites, attend presentations, receive instruction in apprenticeship training classes, and conduct mock interviews.

The 10-week program serves more than 90 young men and women in five ACE chapters in Newark, Jersey City, Perth Amboy, Piscataway/New Brunswick, and Paterson. Plans for similar programs are currently underway in Orange and Elizabeth. The program is a collaborative effort with the New Jersey State Pipe Trades Association.

The Mechanical Contractors Association of New Jersey, Inc. is a trade association representing more than 85 union-employing mechanical construction and service industry contractors throughout New Jersey. The New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Labor Management Council (LMC) has more than 15 organizations representing approximately 135,000 skilled workers statewide.

The MCA/ACE Mentor Program stems from the ACE Mentor Program, a non-profit organization that provides mentoring opportunities to high school students considering careers in architecture, construction, engineering, or related fields. For more information about MCA/ACE, contact John Woodman at (718) 816-7249 or jwoodman1@si.rr.com.

Alliance for Downtown Snags Award

The City of New York Department of Small Business has recognized the Alliance for Downtown New York for its work on the reconstruction of historic Stone Street. The city agency bestowed its Public Space Award of Distinction Award to the Downtown Alliance for coordinating the reconstruction project, which involved installing a new street bed lined with cobblestones, as well as installing old-style lighting fixtures and laying new bluestone sidewalks and a granite curb.

The effort recreated the 19th-century look and feel of Stone Street, which was first laid out by Dutch colonists in the 1600s, and later rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1835. Once a thriving thoroughfare, the street had fallen into disrepair. The Downtown Alliance spearheaded the effort by convincing the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission to designate Stone Street as an historic district.

The Downtown Alliance manages the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Business Improvement District (BID), serving an area from City Hall to the Battery, from the East River to West Street. The award was part of the Department of Small Business's Neighborhood Development Achievement Awards.

Developer for 110 Livingston Street

N.Y.C. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has tapped Two Trees Management to redevelop 110 Livingston Street in Downtown Brooklyn, the former home of the city Department of Education. The city is selling the twelve-story, 335,000-square-foot building for more than $45 million, paving its conversion into residential condominium units and a community theater.

The building will house 245 high-quality condominium apartments, as well as 225 underground parking spaces. Two Trees won the job through an RFP process conducted earlier this year. It will retain the building's façade and spend $95 million in the rehabilitation. 110 Livingston was built in 1925 from a design by McKim, Mead & White, and occupied by the former Board of Education in 1939.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg also announced over the summer that the first school bid using a new procurement process came in at a cost of $315 per square foot, a drop of 29 percent from the last seven schools built by the city's School Construction Authority (SCA). The cost per square foot for the previous seven projects was $442, according to the mayor's office.

Bloomberg and the Department of Education credited bureaucratic and management reforms for the lower costs that resulted from the bidding process for an 86,400-square foot, 650-seat addition to Queens Vocational High School. The SCA awarded the contract for the project to Turner Construction. Work on four-story project began over the summer and will be complete in September 2005, with new classrooms, a library and gym, offices, and other facilities.

AIA NY Pens Affordable Housing Report

The American Institute of Architects New York Chapter has released a report to bolster plans by N.Y.C. Mayor Michael Bloomberg to build more affordable housing in the city. The report, entitled "Ten Steps to Crate More Affordable Housing In New York City," derives from efforts by AIA NY's Housing Task Force to enhance and improve Bloomberg's December 2002 plan by looking at issues that limit the quality and quantity of housing production.

This report covers issues related to the city's zoning resolution and building code, as well as those involving the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

ASANJ Announces Awardees

The American Subcontractors Association Of New Jersey will break out the honors at its 32nd Annual Black Tie Awards Dinner Dance. The 2003 event will be held on Nov. 15 at the Hanover Marriott in Whippany.

ASANJ has tapped S.M. Electric Company, Inc., as its Subcontractor of the Year, while naming Fitzpatrick & Associates as its General Contractor of the Year. Other honors go to Wm. Blanchard Company as Construction Manager of the Year, UMDNJ as Construction User of the Year, and three firms-Century Electric Inc., David Friedland Painting Co., and Papp Iron Works-for the 2003 Safety Awards.

A highlight of the evening will be the presentation of the Distinguished Industry Service Achievement Award to Jack Kocsis, Jr., who is CEO of BCA, and Chairman of SCC.

The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute has released a new "Workbook for Short-Span Reinforced Concrete Bridges" that provides bridge engineers with cost-saving suggestions and general design and construction tips. It includes cost-estimate worksheets, tables of materials quantities, and cost comparison tools.

The 60-page report and CD are available by calling 800-465-CRSI or on the Web at www.crsi.org.

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