BCANJ Honors Past Leaders

Twelve presidents hailed at Annual Dinner Gala. Also, NYMTC releases list of obligated projects.

BCANJ Offers Tribute to Previous Presidents

At its Annual Dinner Gala, the Building Contractors Association of New Jersey normally honors a “Construction Man of the Year;” however, the Association recently chose to honor the 12 men who held “The Office of the President.”

The Building Contractors Association of New Jersey previously honored 12 past presidents. Pictured with from left, are: Richard Branca, Lou Garlatti Sr., Mark Hall, Ralph Pastore, Rudolf Ricciardi, Joseph Natoli, Michael Jensen, James Parry, Benedict Torcivia Jr., Robert Epifano, Robert Gariepy. Photo courtesy of BCANJ.

Nearly 500 BCANJ members and guests attended The Gala Dinner Dance at the Westmount Country Club in West Paterson, New Jersey to celebrate the contributions of the men.

Honored were: Michael Jensen, president of Michael Riesz and Co., BCANJ President 1979 & 1980; Benedict Torcivia, Sr., founder & CEO of Torcon, Inc., BCANJ President 1981 & 1982; Rudolph Ricciardi, BCANJ President 1987 & 1988; Louis Garlatti, Sr., past president of Albert Garlatti Construction Company, Inc., BCANJ President 1989 & 1990.

Also honored were: Robert Epifano, chairman of Epic Management, Inc., BCANJ President 1993 & 1994; Joseph Natoli, founder & president of Joseph A. Natoli Construction Corporation, BCANJ President 1995 & 1996; Ralph Pastore, BCANJ President 1997 & 1998; Benedict Torcivia, Jr., co-president of Torcon, Inc., BCANJ President 1999 & 2000.

Lastly, the most recent presidents were honored and included: Richard Branca,

president of Bergen Engineering Co., BCANJ President 2001 & 2002; Mark Hall, president of Hall Construction Co., Inc., BCANJ President 2003 & 2004; James Parry,

president of John D. Lawrence, Inc., BCANJ President 2005 & 2006; and Robert Gariepy, BCANJ President 2007 & 2008

NYMTC Publishes Project Listt

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council has recently made available its 2008 Annual Listing of Obligated Projects.

The listing is organized three main sub regions: New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley.

Every two years, the NYMTC Transportation Improvement Program is updated for a five year period. All federally funded projects are required to be on the TIP in order to be eligible for funding.

To properly explain distribution of fundis, an annual listing is published each year that shows which projects were actually approved for federal funding.

The projects on the list aim to strengthen and enhance bridges, highways, transit services, bikeways and walkways, according to NYMTC.

IBEW Local 164 Grants Wishes for Familiess

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 164 recently partnered with Hackensack University Medical Center to assist six families as part of The Eighth Annual Gift Giving Program.

Local 164’s Denise Mandeville, business representative, and union member Kelly Whalen, project manager for Unity Telecommunications, also sponsored an additional family. Designed to grant the wish lists of youth who are ill and their siblings, the program overall benefited 18 local families in need.

To participate, HUMC’s Pediatrics departments nominate families served by the hospital to be included in the Gift Giving Program.

“The Gift Giving Program is a wonderful opportunity to spread some magic and offer hope to area families who have been touched by illness and economic difficulties,” said Richard Dressel, Local 164 business manager. “The members of Local 164 embraced this opportunity to not only grant the wish-list items, but surpass the requests by donating the latest age-appropriate toys that bring their own children hours of fun.”

At the celebratory dinner, illusionist David Blaine, Maywood Dance Troupe and Paramus High School Quintet performed.

“IBEW Local 164 went above and beyond this year in offering renewed happiness to six worthy families,” said Ellen Goldring, HUMC’s section chief of child art therapies, who helped coordinate the program.

AAA Announces Construction Resolution Procedures

The Construction Division of The American Arbitration Association, a conflict management and dispute resolution service, has recently launched its Initial Decision Maker procedures, which are aligned with the 2007 AIA Contract Documents.

Currently, the 2007 AIA Contract Documents require that all claims arising from conflict be referred to an IDM as a condition precedent to AAA Mediation, according to AAA. These new documents now allow for the selection of an IDM other than the project architect. As such, the AAA has available architects, engineers, contractors and construction attorneys to serve as the IDM.

“The role of the IDM is to assist parties to a construction project to informally resolve disputes as the project progresses.Similarly, members of the Roster are also available to fulfill the role of the Project Neutral as defined in the new Consensusdocs,” said AAA Construction Division Senior Vice President John Emmert.

To ensure service to the construction community, AAA is in the process of conducting specific IDM training sessions.

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