Blog
New York’s PLA Addiction & The Impact on Affordable Housing
Governor Hochul has announced multiple large-scale housing developments. One major announcement was the 1200 new housing units being built at 5 World Trade Center in New York City, where one-third will be affordable housing. ABC applauds the Governor for her commitment to relieving the housing crisis looming large in New York. With that said New…
Fix the PLA Problem Before Bailing Out NYCHA
The newly appointed New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) CEO has requested a $500M bailout. Common sense change must be made before even a penny of this enormous bailout is forced on taxpayers. NYCHA must stop using expensive Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) on their construction projects as they unnecessarily drive up the construction cost and…
Bringing Back 421-A Is a Good Start to Fixing Housing Crisis
Leaders in Albany have correctly identified that New York has a housing crisis. It is even more frustrating that they have chosen to do nothing about that crisis. Without the correct changes, there is no way that the state will reach its goal of 800,000 new units, housing that is desperately needed. According to the…
Sampson Quoted in BisNow: No Pause In Construction Despite NYC Having World’s Worst Air Quality
Sampson Quoted: No Pause In Construction Despite NYC Having World’s Worst Air Quality June 8, 2023 Ciara Long, Bisnow New York City As thick billows of smoke from wildfires in Canada turned New York City’s air into a hazardous haze on Wednesday, construction work pressed ahead. Bisnow/Ellie Meyer The view of the New York City skyline from Hoboken…
Chapter President Brian Sampson Statement on the Passing of the NYS Budget
For Immediate Release: May 2nd, 2023 Contact: Tanner Schmidt, Public Affairs Manager, (585) 730-1814, tschmidt@abcnys.org www.abcnys.org The following statement on the New York State Budget is attributed to the Associated Builders & Contractors, Empire State Chapter President Brian Sampson: “Governor Hochul and elected leaders have been discussing for months their desire to make New York…
Tossing Cash Out the Window
via GIPHY Time and time again, elected officials in Albany are choosing to waste taxpayer funds by mandating unnecessary labor requirements that do nothing to benefit the project or the workers on those projects and increase the amount New York taxpayer pay for construction. Why do they do these harmful mandates? That answer is simple…
DOOMED FROM THE START: NEW YORKS HABITUAL WORKER EXCLUSION PROBLEM
ABC is glad to see investments included in the state budget proposals to revamp and improve our infrastructure, build 800,000 affordable housing units, and construct more climate/green projects. This funding will create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs in our state. It will also accomplish essential projects that will improve the quality of life of…
ABC Responds to Buffalo News Letter: “PLAs Actually Serve Local Workers”
Normally we wouldn’t take the time to respond to a piece like this. We could point out that the “recent study” he cites is just an update to a 2008 presentation given at a union conference, so it’s essentially a 15-year-old union-funded study. We could respond with an actual recent independent study (Click Here) that…
Governor is Right on Renewable Goals
Since taking office, Governor Hochul has made climate goals and renewable energy a cornerstone of her platform. While there will always be debate about what to do and how far to push, I think most agree that the climate needs to be a focus for all of us. Whatever you want to believe is the…
Albany’s Policies Inhibit Creation of Affordable Housing
It’s clear that addressing the housing crisis by building more affordable housing units in New York is a top priority for Governor Hohcul and leaders in the legislature. ABC and our members applaud this idea, but there are some obstacles standing in the way of achieving this goal. Leaders in Albany acknowledge that zoning is…