BIWeekly e-gram ThaT conTaIns The laTesT neWs and Information vital To lICA’s memBers DECEMBer 7, 2010 In ThIs Issue County Executives Fight • COUNTY EXECUTIVES FIGHT FOR LONG ISLANd’S FAIR SHARE, CALLING FOR $3 for Long Island’s Fair Share, BILLION IN FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION FUNDING Calling for $3 Billion in • LICA SupportS ComptroLLer DINApoLI’S CALL FOR SWEEPING CHANGES TO STATE’S Federal Transportation Funding CAPITAL PLAN • The LoNg ISLAND CoNtrACtorS’ AssOCIATION SUppORTS PLAN TO ReDUce DEFICIT/STRENGTHEN U.S. TRANSPORTATION NETWORK • THE BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY DELIVER MEMO TO GOVERNOR- ELECT CUOMO: MAKE STATE’S INFRASTRUCTURE A MAIN PRIORITY • LICA memberS hoNoreD AS LIbN’S “Who’S WHO IN 2010” • LICA STRENGTHENS INDUSTRY’S ETHICAL STANDARDS • LICA TO WelcOme The HOLIDAys AT The WATERMILL ON DECEMBER 15TH • REGISTER NOW FOR LICA’S 2011 ANNUAL HEAVY CONSTRUCTION AND TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE SAFETY SEMINAR • 2011 CONEXPO IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA LICA Executive Director Marc Herbst and Suffolk and Nassau County Executives Steve Levy and Ed Mangano were joined by the Long Island Association (LIA) • CHRISTMAS/NEW YEar’S EVE HOLIDAY SCHEDULES President Kevin Law at a recent press conference. • bID reSuLtS In the wake of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie cancelling one of the most important transportation public works projects in a generation, Suffolk and Nassau County Executives Steve Levy and Ed Mangano joined forces 150 Motor Parkway at a recent press conference to announce their bid for $3 billion of the $8.7 Suite 307 billion in federal transportation funding that would have gone to build the Hudson Hauppauge, NY 11788-5145 River rail tunnel. Their efforts won the immediate support of the Long Island Contractors’ Association. (Continued on next page) Tel: 631.231.LICA • Fax: 631.231.4291 • www.licanys.org • [email protected] 2 DECEMBer 7, 2010 “Now that Governor Christie has said he does not want to participate in the Hudson River project, we on Long Island are saying it’s time for some of that money to be distributed directly to Long Island. We have our own transit needs and our own road needs,” said Suffolk County Executive Levy. “Where there is more money to be allocated, Long Island has to be at the very top of the list because we have been neglected for far too long.” “This is an important opportunity. These are dollars that should not go wasted. These are dollars that should not sit in planning stages. These are dollars that should come to Long Island to improve our infrastructure,” said Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano. Levy listed several infrastructure projects on Long Island that are worthy of completion, drawing attention specifically to the Sagtikos State Parkway and the need to add a third lane to relieve heavy congestion during high traffic times. Joining the two elected officials, Marc Herbst, executive director of LICA, took to the podium in support, stating, “Governor Christie’s lack of vision is our opportunity for two counties led by strong leaders to seek those dollars so that we can enhance our public infrastructure, strengthen our economy, protect the taxpayers’ investment in roads and bridges and ensure that people and commerce can get from one end of Long Island to the other. We not only stand with Steve Levy and Ed Mangano, we are making them honorary members of LICA’s road crew.” According to the New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) annual bridge report, 61% of the bridges in Nassau and Suffolk counties have been declared either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. LICA believes that as a region we need to make sure reconstruction is the emphasis so that Long Island’s roads The Robert Moses Causeway, West Islip, is one of the bridges on Long and bridges are safe for travel. The maintenance of our Island, cited by NYSDOT as functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. region’s infrastructure is crucial for economic prosperity. “Infrastructure does not need to be built new, but it does need to be updated and maintained. Our number one goal as a region should be to ensure the structural integrity of our area’s roads, bridges and highways,” stated Herbst. “Combined, Nassau and Suffolk counties, are bigger than 19 states, yet we are treated as an appendage to New York City. It’s time for Long Island to get its fair share,” stressed Levy. “It’s time to change the equation. Give Long Island the money it deserves so that we can build a proper infrastructure, a proper transit system, and be able to move our people in an efficient way.” Echoing a similar sentiment, Mangano concluded, “We’re here as one Long Island to try and get transportation funding for our region. The time is now, the money is there and we’re here to DID You Know... When reading the stake our claim.” LICA e-Gram with Adobe Reader, you can zoom in and out of the pages by holding ctrl (or apple) and pressing + (to zoom in) and - (to zoom out)? LONG ISLAND CONTRACtors’ ASSOCIATION, INC. 150 Motor Parkway Suite 307 Tel: 631.231.LICA • Fax: 631.231.4291 • www.licanys.org • [email protected] Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788-5145 3 DECEMBer 7, 2010 LICA Supports Comptroller Dinapoli’s Call for Sweeping Changes to State’s Capital Plan New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has issued a call to arms to every voter in the state who wants their tax money put to effective use. He has released a report detailing the deteriorating condition of our state’s transportation system, imploring local and state politicians to stop their dangerous tactic of underfunding capital programs needed to pay for infrastructure maintenance and repair. LICA notes that DiNapoli is the only state official who has been honest about the lack of financial resources allocated for our infrastructure. The Comptroller is warning that if changes are not made and funding put into roads and bridges, our infrastructure will continue to crumble. LICA Chairman James Pratt, III of Pratt Brothers, Inc. and members of the heavy construction industry honored NYS Cautions LICA’s Marc Herbst, “If New Yorkers choose to ignore Comptroller Tom DiNapoli at LICA’s October 2010 PAC Reception. this report they are putting themselves at risk. More than half of the bridges on Long Island have been declared hazardous to the public by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). How can an assessment as serious and dangerous as that go overlooked?” LICA is insisting that our local and state officials answer DiNapoli’s call and start making the tough decisions to fix the problems facing our region’s infrastructure if New York has any expectation of recapturing its economic leadership and putting an end to its continued loss of population and jobs to other states. DiNapoli’s report comes just weeks after Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch issued his own sweeping report outlining the alarming conditions of our state’s roads and bridges. The report examines the State’s capital needs and concludes that New York is not making essential investments in its deteriorating infrastructure. Huge gaps exist in the proposed NYSDOT and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital plans. The Ravitch Report explains that if these plans are not fully funded New York will be unable to maintain good repair or build the large-scale capital improvements necessary to increase the capacity and effectiveness of our transportation system. “What is clear to everyone who understands the threat is that Richard Ravitch has sought to create a document in the closing weeks of his public service that the next generation will look back on and say, `He tried to warn us.’ Now the question is whether anyone is listening today who can do something about it,” concluded Herbst. To view DiNapoli’s full report click here. LONG ISLAND CONTRACtors’ ASSOCIATION, INC. 150 Motor Parkway Suite 307 Tel: 631.231.LICA • Fax: 631.231.4291 • www.licanys.org • [email protected] Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788-5145 4 DECEMBer 7, 2010 The Long Island Contractors’ Association Supports Plan To Reduce Deficit/Strengthen u.S. Transportation network Now being debated across the country is the plan issued by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform that seeks to address the nation’s historic deficits and upgrade our critical transportation infrastructure. A LICA staff review finds the commission’s transportation plan fiscally responsible and builds on the long-established principle of ensuring that only those who benefit from this system contribute to its upkeep through a user fee. LICA supports this proposal because it delivers critical resources that will create jobs and encourage economic growth in our communities. Further, the Commission’s report comes at a time when the State of New York faces significant transportation challenges and this document is a literal roadmap for addressing the infrastructure crisis in the Empire State. The New York State Department of Transportation’s (NYSDOT) annual bridge report warns that 61% of the bridges in Nassau and Suffolk Counties have been declared either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient. Five of those bridges have a similar rating to the Lake Champlain Bridge that was closed and demolished last December because it was deemed unsafe for use. A historic adjustment Historically, the federal motor fuels tax generates revenues that are invested in highway and public transportation improvements. This tax, however, has not been adjusted since 1993, losing one-third of its purchasing power over the last 17 years due to inflation. “Our country needs our leaders to ensure that creating jobs and reducing the deficit is their number one priority,” stated LICA Executive Director Marc Herbst.