Build it Back to Expand Construction and accelerate recovery in 2015 (The Forum)

JANUARY 1, 2015

Amy Peterson (third from r.), director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations, said the new procurement for construction management and design firms in Queens will expand construction and keep those jobs within Sandy-affected communities. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza

Aiming to build on the momentum established the past 12 months by a revamped Build It Back program, the Mayor’s Office of Housing Recovery Operations has established an open-competitive bidding process for new Superstorm Sandy recovery construction managers in Queens, Staten Island and Brooklyn.

The agency expects the new procurement to expand construction capacity in order to accelerate the home rehabilitations, elevations and reconstructions; and emphasize local hiring on recovery projects.

“Since the mayor’s overhaul, this has been a year of significant progress, and we expect the [hiring] of new construction firms—who will deploy new strategies to target entire neighborhoods—will continue to accelerate the city’s Sandy recovery,” said Amy Peterson, director of HRO.

Each new construction manager, according to HRO, will be required to comply with the Sandy Recovery Hiring Plan, which the administration expects will boost long-term recovery by giving residents in Sandy-impacted communities new jobs and training for those skills necessary to increase household income.

Construction managers are encouraged to work with community groups and job-training programs to identify candidates for construction-related work. Additionally, contractors and subcontractors will be encouraged to have 20 percent of employees be Sandy-impacted residents.CMs must provide a full-time staff member dedicated to daily tracking compliance with the Sandy Recovery Hiring Plan, and are required to register all job opportunities with Sandy Recovery Workforce1, a First Look job pipeline jointly managed by the city Department of Small Business Services and HRO.

For all projects greater than $300,000, CMs are required to work with contractors and subcontractors who have registered apprenticeship programs.  The city and the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York will train area residents through pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs, so Sandy-impacted residents have an opportunity to enter careers in the construction industry.

For all projects greater than $300,000, according to HRO, the city and BCTC have agreed to use the Outer Borough Residential Project Labor Agreement.CMs must comply with federal guidelines for low-income hiring and for hiring minorities and women.

There will be separate competitions for new CMs in the three boroughs, with CMs providing and managing all services necessary during all phases of each project. The city plans to hire up to three new CMs who will focus on specific neighborhoods within each borough.

The city will also provide a forum for contractor and subcontractor networking, open to minority and/or women-owned business enterprise firms, area firms from Sandy-impacted neighborhoods, community-based organizations, and volunteer organizations involved in rebuilding.

CMs will “bundle” homes, according to HRO, to request bids from new pre-qualified lists of contractors for construction according to location, pathways, and other criteria. Greater consideration will be given to proposers who can deliver cost-effective, neighborhood-based solutions that demonstrate extensive experience in resilience improvements of residential structures to reduce risk and strengthen communities in flood zones.

While HRO doesn’t expect to have a tally on the CM bids until mid-January at the earliest, all firms should be on board by spring 2015.

By Michael V. Cusenza