Pinnacle Awards Unveiled

The Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater New York recently presented its 2004-05 Pinnacle Awards, its Academy Awards-inspired banquet. The awards were the culmination of an eight-month competition in which New York's leading owners and managers vied for recognition in a judged contest.

And the winners are…

• Best New Construction: 300 Madison Avenue (owner - Brookfield Financial Properties)
  
• Best Renovated Building: 500 Park Avenue (owner - PPF OFF 500 Park Avenue LLC; management company - Jones Lang La Salle Americas)
  
• Civic Betterment: the Children's Aid Society
  
• Outstanding Local Member: Desmond Burke, president of Firequench, Inc.
  
• Henry J. Muller Achievement Award Recognizing Vision for New York: the New York City Department of Buildings.

ACEC Selects Engineering Excellence Finalists

The American Council of Engineering Companies, an engineering industry association based in Washington, D.C., has selected several New York companies as finalists in its 39th annual Engineering Excellence Awards competition.

The association selected the New York-based team of Parsons Transportation Group and Langan Engineering and Environmental Services as a finalist for the design and construction of the Rion-Antirion Bridge, which spans the Gulf of Corinth between Peloponnese and northern Greece.

Another finalist is Haks Engineers and Land Surveyors of New York in recognition of its surveys for the proposed Cross-Harbor Rail Freight Tunnel in the counties bordering New York Harbor.

The association named Daniel Frankfurt P.C. of New York as a finalist for two different projects - designing the restoration of Stuyvesant Cove Park in Manhattan and designing a temporary outboard roadway on the East River to detour traffic during rehabilitation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, also in Manhattan.

A joint venture of Metcalf & Eddy of Wakefield, Mass., and Hazen and Sawyer of New York also ranked as a finalist for preparing the Environmental Impact Statement for proposed improvements to the Croton Water Treatment Plant in New York.

Irish Builders Host Green Forum

The Irish American Building Society recently hosted a forum to promote green practices in the construction industry. The four-member panel included New York City Council Member James Gennaro of Queens; Jeremy Reiss, director of Urban Agenda, a project of the N.Y.C. Labor Council and Queens College Labor Resource Council; and Gerry Keogh, an IABS board member and attorney with McGoldrick & Keogh.

The fourth panelist was Dean Zias, city outreach director for the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority's Energy Smart Communities initiative. He warned that in 50 years, energy use is slated to increase by 300 percent, making green construction not only smart business but a necessity.

IBEW Noted for Volunteering

Rebuilding Together Bergen County, a non-profit organization that runs a home repair and renovation program, recently honored members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 164, based in Paramus, N.J., for their volunteer efforts.

The annual nationwide event - which helps low-income homeowners who are elderly, have disabilities, or children - involved the renovation of 12 homes and two non-profit institutions in Bergen County last year.

Association Reviews Real Estate Law

The New York State Bar Association's Real Property Law Section recently sponsored a special forum on building security issues at the group's annual meeting in New York. The event included a presentation by Edward Levy, a retired lieutenant colonel from the U.S. Army's military police unit, and Craig Kravit of iVision International.

Levy spoke about how landlords and major corporate tenants are dealing with today's security issues, while Kravit addressed the proper methods for employing background checks and private investigators.

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