Designers from 28
Countries Sign Up for urbanSHED |
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More than 270 designers from around the world have registered for the urbanSHED International Design
Competition. The competition seeks
to develop a new standard of sidewalk
shed design that improves the pedestrian
experience while maintaining or
exceeding the required safety standards
in New York City.
The registration
period has ended, and proposals must be
submitted no later than 5 pm today. Nearly 20% of the
registrants live outside the United
States, including Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, Colombia, Croatia,
Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece,
Guatemala, Italy, Japan, Mexico,
Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal,
Russia, Serbia, South Africa, South
Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,
Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
The
competition, which was launched on
August 13, is being sponsored by DOB,
AIANY, Alliance for Downtown New York,
ABNY Foundation, Illuminating
Engineering Society New York City
Section (IESNYC), and New York Building
Congress with additional support from
the NYC Department of Transportation
(DOT), NYC Department of City Planning
(DCP) and the Structural Engineers
Association of New York (SEAoNY).
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DOB Issues More than
1,000 Smoking Violations |
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The Department of
Buildings has issued more than 1,000
violations for illegal smoking at
construction sites throughout the City. The
new citywide enforcement initiative began
last September as another way to improve
safety on construction sites and prevent
hazardous conditions. |
As of September 17,
the Department’s construction units
have issued a total of 1,009 ECB violations
to contractors for failing to post
no-smoking signs, evidence of smoking refuse
and workers smoking. The members of the
Buildings Enforcement Safety Team (BEST)
issued 417 smoking violations in the past
year, the most of any DOB unit.
The most violations
were issued in Manhattan with 475, followed
by Brooklyn with 261, Queens with 158, the
Bronx with 84 and Staten Island with 31. As
a result, more than $2 million in penalties
has been imposed. In June 2009, Mayor
Michael R. Bloomberg signed two laws that
prohibit smoking on construction sites and
prohibit tobacco, lighters, and matches at
asbestos abatement work sites.
These laws stem from
the 33 recommendations of the Working Group
convened by Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler to
increase safety at construction, demolition
and abatement sites following the tragic
fire at 130 Liberty St. in Manhattan. A
discarded cigarette ignited the August 2007
fire that led to the death of two New York
City firefighters. |
New Asbestos Abatement Requirements |
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On October 13, new requirements for filing
asbestos abatement documents become
effective.
On this date, the Buildings Department (DOB)
will no longer accept the asbestos abatement form (ACP7) for projects involving 1,000
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square or linear feet and greater of
asbestos containing material on any floor.
For projects of this size, applicants
must submit the ACP7 to the new
Asbestos Technical Review Unit (A-TRU)
at the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP). This unit
includes staff from both DOB and DEP and
is now responsible for the review and
permitting of asbestos abatement
projects.
For projects involving less than 1,000
square or linear feet of asbestos
containing material on any floor, DOB will accept the
ACP7, provided that it is prepared
through DEP’s new Asbestos Reporting
and Tracking System (ARTS). Applicants can also submit the ACP7 to DEP.
Visit the Construction, Demolition and Abatement section of
DOB's website for more
information on these new rules and
filing requirements.
New Requirements |
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As of October 1, several new
requirements are now in effect,
including new forms and
certification for Class C HMO
licenses.
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On September 24, Buildings Commissioner
Robert LiMandri joined Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former
Vice President Al Gore to launch NYC Cool Roofs, a NYC Service initiative to
mobilize volunteers to coat the rooftops of participating
buildings with reflective, white coating to reduce
cooling costs, energy usage and
greenhouse emissions.
A cool roof absorbs 80 percent less
heat than traditional dark colored
roofs and can lower roof
temperatures by up to 60 degrees and
indoor temperatures by 10 to 20
degrees on hot days. The decrease in
temperature reduces the need for air
conditioning, lowering electric
bills and reducing energy
consumption. Coating all eligible dark rooftops
in New York City could result in up
to a 1 degree reduction of New York
City’s ambient air temperature – a
significant and lasting change
towards cooling the City.
From September 24 to October 9, teams of
volunteers will coat 100,000
square feet of rooftop across Long Island
City, a neighborhood that exhibits
higher temperatures than the citywide
average due to the amount of industrial
rooftops in the area.
Visit the Sustainability section of DOB's
website to learn more about sustainable initiatives. |
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