News
News/Articles
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:
Password:
The Associated General Contractors of New York State (AGC NYS) and Total Safety Consulting, LLC (TSC) have announced a collaborative agreement to provide the digital presentation, tools, resources, and educational materials for ‘Keeping NYC Safe’ Educational Workshops in addition to discounts on safety services for all AGC NYS members.
Ask Your State Assemblymember and Senator to Co-Sponsor Bipartisan “Scaffold Law” Reform
TAKE ACTION by asking your state Assemblymember and Senator to co-sponsor bipartisan legislation introduced by Democrat Assemblyman John McDonald and Republican Senator Fred Akshar that would reform the “Scaffold Law” by adopting a comparative negligence standard which applies to every other type of liability in New York.
Elmendorf’s statement as a PDF | Congressman John Faso’s statement | AGC of America’s statement | Bill in PDF
Press Conference Video
“New York’s construction industry applauds Congressman John Faso for his leadership and courage in introducing legislation to address at the federal level the manifest injustice and waste of the absolute liability standard of New York’s ‘Scaffold Law.’
This law,
Governor Cuomo Announces Administrative Appointments, AGC NYS Provides Commentary
Just this morning, Governor Cuomo announced changes at the Thruway and NYSDOT. Matthew Driscoll assumes duty as the Executive Director of the NYS Thruway Authority. With Matt’s departure, Cathy Calhoun, NYSDOT’s current Chief of Staff,
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has unveiled a $10 billion plan to transform the aging John F. Kennedy International Airport into a world-class hub with easy access.
The replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge, a vital link between Brooklyn and Queens, with a new crossing has succeeded where many New York transportation projects have failed. It is on time and on budget.
“It’s not at all clear that President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to spend massively on infrastructure are going to unfold….”
Upstate ridesharing fees to benefit local transit
By Jimmy Vielkind
12/20/2016 01:57 PM EDT
ALBANY — The 50-cent fee that officials are preparing to levy on ride-hailing trips outside of New York City will fund both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and other public transit systems,
“The Federal Reserve was right about forecasts this year except….”
By ALEXANDRA S. LEVINE OCT. 24, 2016
Updated, 11:47 a.m.
Good morning on this gusty Monday.
Nearly a century after the Second Avenue subway was first proposed,
It’s been long in coming, but at least one component of Gateway, the $23 billion plan to steel the Northeast Corridor’s arthritic spine, appears to be happening.
On Thursday afternoon, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
By Patrick Lohmann | plohmann@syracuse.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
SYRACUSE, N.Y.– State Sen. John DeFrancisco is hoping state engineers reconsider an option for the reconstruction of the deteriorating Interstate 81 overpass,
By Thomas J. Spearing III
Poor road conditions and traffic congestion cost drivers about $6.3 billion statewide, or an average of $694 per driver, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers report card on New York’s infrastructure.
ALBANY — The state’s top economic development official said Tuesday he may re-bid construction contracts on some projects that had been overseen by the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, whose leader was charged in a bid-rigging scandal.
By KNORRI ATKINSON
Elected officials and the city’s largest commercial landlord broke ground on Tuesday on a planned 58-story office building on Vanderbilt Avenue in Midtown East. The ceremony was a milestone in the city’s effort to modernize the area and attract new businesses.
Jon Campbell , Albany Bureau
ALBANY – Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration dotted New York with 514 highway signs touting its tourism programs despite a federal ruling explicitly prohibiting the state from doing so.
By Eric Anderson
Details sparse, but experts agree on need to reinvestment
While the plans aren’t very specific, President-elect Donald Trump‘s pledge to spend $1 trillion on the nation’s decaying infrastructure is getting a warm response.
From education funding to water pipes, plenty to talk about
By Rick Karlin
Despite a 2-to-1 enrollment deficit, but buoyed perhaps by Donald Trump‘s election as president, New York Republicans are on track to hold at least 31 of 63 seats in the state Senate.
DOT formally announces I-86, I-390 projects
CORNING | The state Department of Transportation (DOT) formally announced major rehabilitation work being conducted on weathered sections of Interstate 86 in Corning and Interstate 390 connecting Wayland and Cohocton during a press conference Tuesday.
CONSTRUCTION FIRMS ADD 23,000 EMPLOYEES IN SEPTEMBER AS SECTOR’S EMPLOYMENT HITS HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE THE END OF 2008 AMID STRONG DEMAND
Industry Officials Note the Sector’s Average Hourly Earnings Increased by 2.8 Percent for the Year as Most Firms Report Shortages of Qualified Workers,
Crain’s photo shows crews take risks. Yet only employers are punished
To the Editor:
The expensive inequities and fundamental unfairness of the irrational absolute-liability standard in New York’s “scaffold law” are front and center in “Without a net”
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Andrew Cuomo pitched a new big-projects agency as a way to help smooth the way for massive state construction like the planned $29 billion mass transit overhaul in New York City, but critics worry about a power grab by the famously hands-on leader.
April 26, 2016 — 6:14 PM EDT Updated on April 27, 2016 — 12:01 AM EDT
The new magic number in the oil industry is $50.
BP Plc,
ALBANY — The energy industry said the Constitution pipeline would be a huge loss to New York if the state’s decision to block it stands during an appeal.
“Thousands of dollars could be saved by average people in their heating bills alone,”
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine and El Centro, Calif. Top Growth List; Odessa, Texas, and Bloomington, Ill. Have Largest Declines as Energy Producing Areas Continue to See Drops in Construction Jobs
Construction employment increased in 244 out of 358 metro areas,
State cites failure to address water impacts in Constitution permit refusal
By Brian Nearing
For the second time in a week, a major natural gas pipeline project in the state appears to have hit the rocks.
Late Friday,
By Jon Chesto Globe Staff
The energy giant Kinder Morgan Inc. has pulled the plug on its controversial natural gas pipeline proposed through parts of Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire, after failing to sign up enough utility customers and facing stiff consumer and political opposition.
Matt Coyne, mcoyne@lohud.com
As construction industry-wide Safety Week kicks off, the new bridge project has an incident rate of less than one percent
TARRYTOWN – The new Tappan Zee Bridge project is earning high marks for its low injury rate.
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. construction spending advanced in March to its highest level in more than eight years. Gains in home building and nonresidential construction offset a drop in government projects.
Construction spending rose 0.3 percent in March after a 1 percent gain in February,
Related chairman praises rise of nonunion workers, and organized labor strikes back
Stephen Ross of the real estate company called the proliferation of nonunion labor on construction sites ‘good news’
The chairman of the Related Cos.
By David Klepper, The Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo pitched a new big-projects agency as a way to help smooth the way for massive state construction like the planned $29 billion mass transit overhaul in New York City,
WASHINGTON | By Lucia Mutikani
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose last week to a more than one-year high, but economists blamed striking telecommunications workers for the surge and said the data did not signal a deterioration in the overall labor market.
By Kim Slowey
Dive Brief:
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued its final rule, going into effect Aug. 10, on new electronic record-keeping and reporting requirements for injuries and illnesses, and agency officials said making those records public are meant to “nudge”
The 85-year-old George Washington Bridge, spanning the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, is getting some much-needed major renovations to keep it alive into the next century.
NJ.com reports that officials are planning an intricate construction schedule involving 11 projects as part of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s nearly $2 billion “Restore the George” program,
By Hilary Russ
America will fall $1.44 trillion short of what it needs to spend on infrastructure through the next decade, a gap that could strip 2.5 million jobs and $4 trillion of gross domestic product from the economy,
While productivity in other business sectors has surged ahead in the last half century, advances in construction have been “meager”, according to the World Economic Forum. In a new report, the Geneva-based business organization sets out a recipe of improvements the industry must follow to meet burgeoning global demand.
Montreign Casino & Raceway is being built in Monticello, N.Y. It’s a $1 billion project by Empire Resorts and will include an 80,000-square-foot casino and a 390-room hotel.
By Teri Weaver | tweaver@syracuse.com
Follow on Twitter
on May 05,
By Kim Slowey
The word “lean” explains a great deal about the goals of Lean Construction. It implies that something has been trimmed of excess fat, or, in the case of a construction company, of waste and inefficiency.
SCHENECTADY — Representatives of Rivers Casino & Resort Schenectady on Monday held a topping-off ceremony at the $330 million gaming facility.
Representatives of Rush Street Gaming, the city and county and members of the construction team signed the final 60-foot steel beam before it was hoisted into place atop the structure.
By Geoff Redick
The last bit of steel is in place for Rivers Casino in Schenectady. The city and gaming company hosted a “topping off” ceremony Monday at the construction site. TWC News’ Geoff Redick reports.
SCHENECTADY,
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and state legislative leaders announced on Thursday that they had reached a budget agreement that would raise the minimum wage in New York City to $15 by the end of 2018,
By Greg Hudson Columbia-Greene Media
State lawmakers missed the March 31 deadline by nine hours when they successfully passed a $156 billion 2016-17 state budget Friday.
The state Senate voted 61-1 Friday morning to approve the budget,
By Kim Slowey
Dive Brief:
- In a report issued by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the organization said that the construction and infrastructure industries are two of the biggest users of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS),
by Lisa Cleaver
Every day, highway and street construction workers are at risk of fatal and serious nonfatal injury when working in the vicinity of passing motorists, construction vehicles and equipment.
Each year,
Paul Davidson, USA TODAY
The economy’s humdrum performance of late continued in late February and March, with solid advances in the labor market and housing offsetting a mixed performance for manufacturing, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
Matt Coyne, mcoyne@lohud.com
It seems like every day, the towers that will make up the new Tappan Zee Bridge’s most iconic feature get a bit taller.
It’s all thanks to those blue boxes that sit on top.
Growth likely to pick in spring, but economy still not ‘just right’
The last few years the U.S. economy has been marked by barren first quarters following by blossoming growth in the spring. The same pattern is likely to reemerge this year,
Most investment in upstate NY in history, Cuomo says
By Greg Hudson Columbia-Greene Media
New York State lawmakers successfully passed the state’s $156 billion budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year Friday.
The state Senate voted 61-1 Friday morning to approve the budget,including a state income tax cut which will lower the tax rate to 5.5 percent – its lowest rate in 70 years – a provision that will provide 12 weeks of paid family leave,
By Mike McAndrew | mmcandrew@syracuse.com
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Here’s an early round-up of some of the winners and losers in the $156 billion New York state budget, which lawmakers debated through Thursday night and are still voting on Friday morning.
AREAS BETWEEN FEBRUARY 2015 AND 2016 AS DEMAND FOR CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES TO GROW
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine and Monroe, Mich. Top Growth List; Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas, and Bloomington, Ill. Have Largest Declines, Many Energy-Producing Metro Areas Experience Big Losses
Construction employment increased in 234 out of 358 metro areas,
Our opinion: Oversight of the state Canal Corp. has moved to the New York Power Authority. Although it runs a deficit, the canal system remains a valuable asset.
It’s a simple lesson in government economics – if you have an agency running a deficit and another racking up surpluses,
Two lawsuits aimed at preventing the start of a $1 billion mixed-use development in Glen Cove have been dismissed, paving the way for the project’s construction to begin.
A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday dismissed the lawsuits filed by a group of residents and the Village of Sea Cliff against the City of Glen Cove’s approvals of the Garvies Point project.
Fewer Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, indicating the U.S. job market remains healthy.
Jobless claims fell by 4,000 to 262,000 in the week ended Aug.
Deteriorated passenger bridges at Albany airport to be replaced
By Jake Lahut
Albany International Airport will receive more than $3 million in federal funding to replace deteriorating passenger bridges that are used by 90 percent of its passengers to board aircraft.
Governor Cuomo Announces $13.7 Million in Grants for Southern Tier Water Infrastructure Improvements
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $13.7 million in grants to support eight critical municipal water infrastructure projects across the Southern Tier. These grants are part of the second round of NYS Water Grants funded through the state’s Water Infrastructure Improvement Act.
Grants Leverage $39.7 Million in Water Quality Investments
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $14.6 million in grants to support 12 critical municipal water infrastructure projects in Central New York. These grants are part of the second round of NYS Water Grants funded through the state’s Water Infrastructure Improvement Act.
Paul Davidson, USA TODAY 11:05 a.m. EDT August 5, 2016
The economy crushed expectations in July, generating 255,000 jobs. It was the second straight month of strong jobs gains and a lot better than the 180,000 expected.
By Tim O’Brien on July 27, 2016 at 2:51 PM
The state Department of Transportation unveiled today its draft list of road projects to get federal funding from 2017 through 2020.
Called the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program,
Editor’s note: The following is the second of two parts. Read the first part here.
Construction’s high suicide rates and the importance of prevention efforts are just beginning to reach the radar of industry leaders,
The Federal Reserve is close to hitting its targets for full employment and 2 percent inflation, the Fed’s No. 2 policymaker said on Sunday in comments that did not address when the U.S. central bank should next raise interest rates.
Anyone who has been a driver or passenger bumping along the state’s deteriorating roadways would hardly be surprised at New York’s poor ranking – 45th – in that category. Indeed, it might be difficult to find Western New Yorkers willing to agree the state should even be that high on the list.
For nearly a quarter-century, governors and mayors in New York have been stymied in their attempts to fix Pennsylvania Station, one of the busiest transit halls in the Western Hemisphere and one of the most crowded and confusing.
Joseph Spector, Albany Bureau Chief
ALBANY – Uncollected tolls on the New York State Thruway spiked at its 58 toll plazas over the past five years — even as the superhighway slowly shifts to a cashless toll system that critics fear will lead to more lost revenue.
Economic Indicators Reuters
U.S. employment growth slowed more than expected in August after two straight months of robust gains and wage gains moderated, which could effectively rule out an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this month.
Compared with the earlier April version of ConstuctConnect’s put-in-place (PIP) investment outlook, grand total construction spending has been modified as follows: for 2016, from +9.0% to +5.9% (down); for 2017, from +8.5% to +6.9% (down);
Dark times for SolarCity could leave New York out in the cold
What happens if shareholders of Tesla balk at bailing out the company that Cuomo and Buffalo are counting on?
By Paul Alexander
New York government officials are gambling Buffalo’s long-hoped-for economic recovery on SolarCity,
Construction contractor groups blast rule but organized labor praises it
Federal agencies have released a final rule and a guidance document that require firms bidding on federal projects to disclose more information about their track record in complying with workplace safety,
By Jimmy Vielkind
ALBANY – Without fanfare, the state Department of Transportation has posted details of a five-year capital plan for roads and bridges, detailing hundreds of projects around the state that are slated for work in coming years.
Dive Brief:
- Housing starts slipped 0.3% in May to a 1.164 million annualized rate, down slightly from the revised 1.167 million rate in April, the Commerce Department reported Friday.
DEMAND REMAINS STRONG FOR MOST PROJECT CATEGORIES
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. and Monroe, Mich. Top Growth List While Midland, Texas and Bloomington, Ill. Have Largest Declines; Worker Shortages May be Limiting Gains in Some Areas
Construction employment rose between April 2015 and April 2016 in two-thirds of the nation’s metro areas,
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has started the process for a potential — and some argue long overdue — Noise in Construction standard.
The potential standard was included on OSHA’s regulatory agenda published last month,
Contractors will begin tearing down parts of the main La Guardia airport terminal next week in the first physical move toward the $4 billion rebuild.
The plan is to tear down a few gates at a time until the whole main Terminal B is rebuilt.
by DCN News Services
ARLINGTON, VA.—Construction employment rose between April 2015 and April 2016 in two-thirds of the metropolitan areas in the U.S., a report issued June 1 by the Associated General Contractors of America indicates.
Spending on most types of structures increased for the year despite a drop in the latest month,
By Kim Slowey
Dive Brief:
- A New York City Building Congress analysis of 2015 city construction data found that $39 billion of construction activity generated an additional $22 billion in spending and output, resulting in $61 billion of total economic benefit for the city and representing a 7% increase from 2014’s $57 billion.
Vice president Joe Biden returned to La Guardia Airport — which he once said reminded him of a “third-world country” — on Tuesday to help break ground on the new main terminal.
“The greatest city in the world needs and deserves the greatest infrastructure,” said Biden.
Grants Will Rehabilitate 3 Railroad Bridges and More Than 52 Miles ofRail Track and Facilities
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $16.3 million to fund rail and port improvement projects across New York State. These grants, from the Governor’s Passenger and Freight Rail Assistance Program,
And then there were three: Skanska, Lend Lease and Gilbane to compete for Javits redevelopment
The companies were finalists in competitions for RFPs
State officials have selected the three construction teams that can compete for a chance to redevelop the Jacob K.
SL Green Taps AECOM’s Tishman Construction to Manage Construction of $1B Office Project in Manhattan
by Jeff Shaw in New York, Northeast, Office, Top Stories
NEW YORK CITY — SL Green Realty Corp. has chosen AECOM’s Tishman Construction unit to manage the construction of One Vanderbilt,
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz Contact Reporter Chicago Tribune
Cranes have sprouted in Chicago as surely as tulips, but a busy construction season is coming with concerns that there aren’t enough skilled workers to do all the building.
Matt Coyne and Mark Lungariello, mlungariel@lohud.com 7:15 p.m. EDT July 12, 2016
Legislator Shimsky: “We’re talking about the largest piece of county-owned property. We’re talking about a 99-year lease”
WHITE PLAINS — Westchester County is going to put a little more time into its review of plans for a $1.2 billion biotech center in Valhalla,
The developer, which has partnered with investment firm Qatari Diar, received a construction loan from Bank of the Ozarks. WeWork will anchor the development
A pair of new office towers will rise in Long Island City.
Memorial Bridge, ports among projects slated to get transportation grants
By Melanie Zanona
The Department of Transportation (DOT) has selected over a dozen transportation projects to receive funding from a newly created competitive grant program, quickly drawing the praise of lawmakers who represent districts or states that will benefit from the fresh injection of infrastructure cash.
Under the proposal, the Queens venue, Resorts World Casino, would get a hotel, spa and resort and convention center
By Amanda Fung
The Resorts World Casino in Queens may get bigger.
The owner of Resorts World Casino,
NEW YORK | By Herbert Lash and Edward Krudy
Global stock markets lost about $2 trillion in value on Friday after Britain voted to leave the European Union, while sterling suffered a record one-day plunge to a 31-year low and money poured into safe-haven gold and government bonds.
Source: Dodge Data & Analytics
At a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $636.7 billion, new construction starts in May increased 5% from April, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Much of the growth came from the nonbuilding construction sector (public works and electric utilities),
Gov. Cuomo’s budget would spend billions on the state’s transportation infrastructure.
THE STAKES
Coupling it with a giveback to favor Thruway users is an unnecessary political ploy.As so many municipalities and school districts struggle, hemmed in by the property tax cap and only modest increases in state aid,
By David K. Li
Con Edison, KeySpan and Brooklyn Union Gas are balking at state and MTA pressure to pony up millions of dollars for work on the Second Avenue Subway.
The utility companies are already asking for rate hikes they believe are crucial to maintain an aging infrastructure — and they have no interest in shouldering the $375 million the MTA says is needed to move underground lines as it continues to build the long-awaited subway,
February 17, 2016 — 8:30 AM EST Updated on February 17, 2016 — 8:56 AM EST
New-home construction in the U.S. unexpectedly cooled in January, indicating there is a limit to how much gains in residential real estate will boost growth at the start of 2016.
By MATT A.V. CHABAN
Scrutiny is about to begin of a proposal for the tallest tower in Brooklyn, one that would be impossible to ignore.
Two developers have submitted plans in recent weeks for a 1,066-foot building in Downtown Brooklyn,
Bart Jansen, USA TODAY12:49 p.m. EST February 18, 2016
WASHINGTON – Nearly 10% of the country’s bridges – 58,495 out of 609,539 – were considered structurally deficient last year and needed repairs,
Road funds off-balance
WARSAW — The Department of Transportation knows the New York City subway is important — but that doesn’t stop the roads in upstate New York from crumbling.
The Wyoming County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved a resolution passed calling on Governor Andrew Cuomo restore parity between the upstate and downstate budget.
A lot of vertical construction – factories, restaurants, hotels, lofts – is going on in the Queen City. But what about the horizontal structures – roads, bridges, storm drains, sewers? We depend on them every day.
Take a closer look.
By Mike Elmendorf and Gerry Geist, Commentary
Last month, in his State of the State speech and budget proposal, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was proposing a $22 billion, five-year investment in road and bridge funding,
By Eric Pianin
Last December Congress finally pushed through a $305 billion, five-year highway and transit bill after years of delay and neglect of the nation’s roads and infrastructure.
However, despite the celebration by lawmakers and state and local officials who have long sought the increased spending,
By Dian Zhang
The construction industry is facing a severe labor shortage. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median age of construction industry workers is 42.8, with young workers under 34 accounting for less than one third of the total workforce.
New York state is processing nearly $80 million in late payments for construction of the SolarCity factory in South Buffalo, representing the work done in November and December.
The payments will flow from Empire State Development Corp. to SUNY Polytechnic Institute and its nonprofit development subsidiary,
The coalition of building and trades organizations that is seeking parity in the funding for Department of Transportation capital projects is praising the Senate-backed budget resolution that adds an additional $3.5 billion to the five-year capital plan.
“The Senate has shown strong,
By Sally Goldenberg
5:14 a.m. | Mar. 16, 2016
With construction site safety an increasing source of controversy between developers and unions, the Real Estate Board of New York is releasing a study that shows most fatal accidents in New York City take place at job sites for buildings shorter than 10 stories.
The price has reached $5.3 billion, more than $1 billion above original estimates
By Amanda Fung
The latest price tag for the overhaul of the aging LaGuardia Airport has soared to $5.3 billion, more than $1 billion higher than previously estimated,
Updated on March 23, 2016 — 1:55 PM EDT
The last gate of the Pacific Locks is being installed as part of the Panama Canal expansion, as the media is offered a tour, in Cocoli, near Panama City,
The New York City metro area took a giant step toward revitalizing its crumbling capacity-strained transport hubs on Thursday as a major bistate agency authorized up to $22 billion of spending on air, rail, and bus infrastructure.
Officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey,
By Tim Devaney
Millions of construction and manufacturing workers will be protected from harmful silica dust under long-delayed rules from the Obama administration.
The Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced Thursday it is cutting in half the level of silica workers can be exposed to on the job.
There are 560 public authorities in New York State, and now Gov. Cuomo is looking to add another, as another layer to one of the biggest authorities.
Greg Floyd takes a look at this proposal, because You Paid for It.
By Dana Rubinstein
5:15 a.m. | Mar. 16, 2016
By the time Mayor Bill de Blasio’s citywide ferry service is up and running, one of the relics of the city’s ferry heyday will have finally been converted into a hotel.
By David Giambusso
5:14 a.m. | Mar. 16, 2016
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s buildings working group is about two months late with recommendations it was supposed to make on cutting building emissions across the city. But now one of the biggest players in the group has released its own report detailing ideas for reducing carbon emissions in city buildings.