NEW YORK—With billions of dollars in construction projects underway in Lower Manhattan over the past few years, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center (LMCCC), a private contractor, has been a key element in mitigating the projects’ efforts, logistics, and their impact on the public.
On Tuesday, just 18 days before the contract with LMCCC is set to expire, New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron urged the state and the city to sign an executive order ensuring the organization will continue after its current expiry date of Dec. 31, 2010.
“Ask any community member here in Lower Manhattan,” said Squadron: the LMCCC makes tough construction work for the community [and] difficult construction schedules get on track when for years and years [they] didn’t.”
Squadron said the organization doesn’t know what its fate will be, saying that the city and state have not told them yet. Though there have been conversations about long-term budgeting, Squadron says no one has said whether they will let the contract expire or not. “The folks at LMCCC need to know if they are getting ready to put the organization in mothballs or if they are getting ready to plan for the next six months,” said Squadron.
In January, Community Board One passed a unanimous resolution that called for the LMCCC to be extended. The following month in February, Squadron sent a letter to Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking for the organization’s extension. The governor and the mayor will need to sign the executive order before the New Year to ensure the organization will continue doing its work.
Catherine McVay Hughes, vice chairwoman of Community Board 1, praised LMCCC for their work and said that as a resident, the organization has been important in terms of air quality, noise, and vibration, among other aspects.
“They run very good meetings [and] share the information in real time with real people, and everything works much smoother,” said Hughes. “How can safety vehicles get to someone in need if there are six-seven construction trucks per day that need to be managed, that’s just one of the things the LMCCC does,” said the vice chairwoman.
The LMCCC provides information regarding numerous ongoing construction initiatives in Lower Manhattan and asks residents to provide feedback to better suit the needs of the public.
The construction initiatives in Lower Manhattan are estimated to be over $20 billion. Among the projects overseen by the organization are the World Trade Center site, the Houston Street reconstruction, and Battery Park enhancements, to name a few. According to the LMCCC website, over 100 private and public construction projects have contributed to one of the most robust construction zones in the city since 2001.
Upon its establishment in 2004 by then Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, the LMCCC was appointed to oversee the coordination of all construction projects in Lower Manhattan valued at $25 million or more.
“If LMCCC is not extended you‘ll see a coordinated effort in lower Manhattan begin to fall apart, you’ll see a community desperate for good trustworthy dependable information,” said Squadron.
Squadron said they were initially asking for a two- to three-year extension; however he noted that at this point even a short-term extension to get past the expiry date of Dec. 31 would be an improvement. He said that at this point it’s not a budget conversation, saying that he’s open to having that at a later time to discuss the financial issues regarding running the LMCCC for the next couple of years.
“As we move into the next critical phase of construction in Lower Manhattan, it is vital that we keep the LMCCC in place to continue to provide strong coordination among development projects downtown,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler in a statement. “As a major staging area for the city’s economic and physical redevelopment, Lower Manhattan is at the center of New York’s construction boom and revitalization.”
According to its website, the LMCCC is designed to “facilitate construction activities, mitigate their impacts on the community, and communicate with the public about the work and its impact. Its team works with project sponsors to help streamline design and construction schedules, negotiate priorities, coordinate logistics, and plan the movement of construction workers, materials, and equipment to the area.”
On Tuesday, just 18 days before the contract with LMCCC is set to expire, New York state Sen. Daniel Squadron urged the state and the city to sign an executive order ensuring the organization will continue after its current expiry date of Dec. 31, 2010.
“Ask any community member here in Lower Manhattan,” said Squadron: the LMCCC makes tough construction work for the community [and] difficult construction schedules get on track when for years and years [they] didn’t.”
Squadron said the organization doesn’t know what its fate will be, saying that the city and state have not told them yet. Though there have been conversations about long-term budgeting, Squadron says no one has said whether they will let the contract expire or not. “The folks at LMCCC need to know if they are getting ready to put the organization in mothballs or if they are getting ready to plan for the next six months,” said Squadron.
In January, Community Board One passed a unanimous resolution that called for the LMCCC to be extended. The following month in February, Squadron sent a letter to Gov. David Paterson and Mayor Michael Bloomberg asking for the organization’s extension. The governor and the mayor will need to sign the executive order before the New Year to ensure the organization will continue doing its work.
Catherine McVay Hughes, vice chairwoman of Community Board 1, praised LMCCC for their work and said that as a resident, the organization has been important in terms of air quality, noise, and vibration, among other aspects.
“They run very good meetings [and] share the information in real time with real people, and everything works much smoother,” said Hughes. “How can safety vehicles get to someone in need if there are six-seven construction trucks per day that need to be managed, that’s just one of the things the LMCCC does,” said the vice chairwoman.
The LMCCC provides information regarding numerous ongoing construction initiatives in Lower Manhattan and asks residents to provide feedback to better suit the needs of the public.
The construction initiatives in Lower Manhattan are estimated to be over $20 billion. Among the projects overseen by the organization are the World Trade Center site, the Houston Street reconstruction, and Battery Park enhancements, to name a few. According to the LMCCC website, over 100 private and public construction projects have contributed to one of the most robust construction zones in the city since 2001.
Upon its establishment in 2004 by then Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg, the LMCCC was appointed to oversee the coordination of all construction projects in Lower Manhattan valued at $25 million or more.
“If LMCCC is not extended you‘ll see a coordinated effort in lower Manhattan begin to fall apart, you’ll see a community desperate for good trustworthy dependable information,” said Squadron.
Squadron said they were initially asking for a two- to three-year extension; however he noted that at this point even a short-term extension to get past the expiry date of Dec. 31 would be an improvement. He said that at this point it’s not a budget conversation, saying that he’s open to having that at a later time to discuss the financial issues regarding running the LMCCC for the next couple of years.
“As we move into the next critical phase of construction in Lower Manhattan, it is vital that we keep the LMCCC in place to continue to provide strong coordination among development projects downtown,” said Congressman Jerrold Nadler in a statement. “As a major staging area for the city’s economic and physical redevelopment, Lower Manhattan is at the center of New York’s construction boom and revitalization.”
According to its website, the LMCCC is designed to “facilitate construction activities, mitigate their impacts on the community, and communicate with the public about the work and its impact. Its team works with project sponsors to help streamline design and construction schedules, negotiate priorities, coordinate logistics, and plan the movement of construction workers, materials, and equipment to the area.”
