Bill aimed at streamlining construction contracts

Real Estate Weekly, July 2, 2003 by Elaine Misonzhnik

On June 12, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the creation of the "Coordinated Construction Act for Lower Manhattan," a bill proposal that would streamline the construction. efforts and ensure quality in the rebuilding of the World Trade Center. The seven-point bill covers such issues as joint bids for infrastructure projects, contractor pre-qualification, and the employment of minority-owned businesses.

"We want to reproduce the energy, the commitment, and the speed we witnessed with the clean-up of the World Trade Center site," Bloomberg said in an official statement. "Our plan will allow public agencies to work together in unprecedented ways and using and standardizing the best practices of both the public and private sectors."

According to Ed Malloy, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council, who helped draft the bill, the Coordinated Construction Act was created to ensure a speedy construction process.

"The legislation was created to facilitate the project going forward," he said. "In the clean-up, for example, the city was able to motivate people by having bids only for prequalified contractors. That's what they want to do again."

Both Malloy and his industry colleague, Louis Coletti, president and chief executive officer of the Building Trades Employers' Association, think the most important features of the new bill are the allowance of joint bidding and the pre-qualification of contractors. The joint bidding would override an earlier court ruling which prohibited different companies from coordinating projects that would use the same land.

"What the mayor was looking to do was insure that the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan would be done quickly and with the best use of the taxpayer's dollars," Coletti said.

"The joint bidding will help better coordinate construction and save money and time. And by giving the city the ability to pre-qualify, we think the bill will improve the quality of the building contractor that will do the work Downtown. We think the law bid requirement right now is a joke. Better contractors just refuse to bid for public work because of the impediments involved."

The bill also addresses such issues as the requirement for state-certified apprenticeship programs for safety purposes and equal opportunity employment; the use of environmentally-safe materials, and cooperative purchasing.

"I think this is an extremely important piece of legislation from everyone's point of view," Coletti said. "It will expedite the process and open up new opportunities for both the city and the people in the construction industry."

The mayor expects the bill to be passed later this year.