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BNYC Calls for Action to Address NYC’s Affordable Housing Crisis
Building NYC blasts critics of 421-a tax subsidy for developers, saying that they are putting their own special interests above the needs of struggling New Yorkers.
Construction Equipment Guide: The Dangers of Criminalizing Construction Accidents
Construction Equipment Guide posts news on BNYC's editorial by Brad Gertsman published by Crain's New York Business:
More Affordable Housing Falls Victim to Labor’s Self Interest
450 affordable apartments-part of the larger Astoria Cove development in Queens, have fallen victim to the narrow self interest of organized labor:
Construction Unions to New Yorkers: Pay Us or Stay Homeless
The play by the construction unions is a classic knock of the old wolf in sheep's clothing fable-hiding their rapaciousness behind the cloak of affordable housing even as they must know that paying their demand for “prevailing wages” will make it almost impossible to come anywhere near the mayor’s ambitious housing goals.
Handwriting on the Wall for Construction Unions in NYC
Construction unions are reaching a serious crossroads in New York. For years, utilizing political muscle and other forms of intimidation, they dominated building in the city-squashing non-union efforts easily like a bug. But then things began to change as the death grip of organized labor was slowly removed and contractors began to see how costly and inefficient the building trades had become.
Is Cuomo the new Boss Tweed?
Late last month, Gov. Andrew Cuomo made it clear that he cares more about political connections than empowering workers in New York. This should be deeply concerning for taxpayers and for those who want to create more middle-class jobs throughout the state.
Crain’s: What killed 421-a? Old-fashioned protectionism
Key program to produce affordable housing is losing out to myopic and selfish pleading by organized labor
The Real Deal: Just kidding: IBO corrects its 421a report, says prevailing wage requirement would actually cost city $4.2B
From The Real Deal:
The Independent Budget Office says it botched a recent report on affordable housing by drastically underestimating the impact of requiring prevailing wages on projects benefiting from the 421a property tax break.
Such a union-friendly requirement would cost the city an additional $4.2 billion in financing to keep up with Mayor Bill […]
Crains: Union labor for construction is far more expensive than originally estimated
From Crain’s New York Business:
IBO rechecks its data and says the added burden is a whopping 23%
Using union labor to build affordable housing under the mayor’s ambitious program will be almost twice as costly as previously estimated.
The bottom line: 23% more, or $4.2 billion, which works out to $80,000 per unit.
In January, the […]
NYP: NY construction unions make it hard for minorities to move up
When Averil Morrison sued the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-B for racial discrimination back in 2012, she confirmed what we’ve known for decades: New York City union construction is no standard-bearer for workplace diversity.