New Institute Formed

General building contractors in Westchester County and the mid-Hudson region have formed the Construction Advancement Institute, aiming to make the region an attractive location for corporate headquarters.

Vincent Colletti, president of Vincent Colletti & Co., will serve as the Tarrytown-based institute's chairman. Ross Pepe, president of the Building Contractors Association of Westchester & the Mid-Hudson region, will be executive director.

In a press release, Colletti said the institute's mission will be to promote and implement cutting edge technology to ensure higher quality, union-built construction for lower costs. The group will address educational, safety, health, legislative, and construction innovation issues.

Westchester BOMA Picks Officers

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Westchester County has named its slate of officers for the 2005 term. The new BOMA president is Mark Durno, vice president for property management in the Westchester region for Mack-Cali Realty of Elmsford, N.Y.

Other new officers include Tammy Cuomo of Reckson Associates Realty as vice president and William Rifkin of Healthcare Realty as secretary/treasurer. The association also elected seven directors: Dean Bender of Thompson & Bender; David Block of CB Richard Ellis; Sean Brown of Kastle Systems; David Friedman of Louis Dreyfus Property Group; John Goudey of Albert B. Ashforth Company; Maryann Martini of MBIA Insurance; and Kim Zaccagnino of W&M Properties. Charles Brown Jr. of CW Brown, Inc. was elected Allied Representative.

Lettiere Named President of National Highway Group

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, based in Washington, D.C., has named John "Jack" Lettiere Jr., as its new president to fill out the last nine months of the 2004-05 term. Lettiere is commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

Lettiere is the first president of the association from New Jersey. He fills the post because he had been vice president and took the top post according to the association's bylaws when his predecessor stepped down.

Lettiere is also chairman of the New Jersey Transit Corporation and the state's Transportation Trust Fund Authority.

REBNY Holds Annual Banquet

The Real Estate Board of New York recently held its 109th Annual Banquet at the New York Hilton, honoring several of the industry's top contributors. Steven Spinola, REBNY's president, and Burton Resnick, its board chairman, presented the awards.

The recipients included: Stephen Ross of the Related Companies for the Harry B. Helmsley Distinguished New Yorker Award; Jerry Speyer of Tishman Speyer Properties for the Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Leadership in Real Estate Award; Jeffrey Gural of Newmark & Co. Real Estate for the Kenneth R. Gerrety Humanitarian Award; Mary Ann Tighe of CB Richard Ellis for the Louis Smadbeck Broker Recognition Award; Sarah Cohn of KTR Newmark Real Estate Services and Koeppel Companies for Young Real Estate Woman of the Year Award; and Gregg Popkin of CB Richard Ellis for the George M. Brooker Management Executive of the Year Award.

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