In a joint venture with industry partners, the New York Building Congress recently contributed $100,000 to an important advertising campaign in support of the City's Hudson Yards Plan and the New York Sports and Convention Center.

The campaign featured television ads that ran from May 17 through June 11 on NY1, Fox 5 News, and UPN News evening broadcasts.The spots highlighted the immense benefits of the projects for taxpayers, working families and for the City of New York. The New York Jets organization followed the industry campaign with their own advertisements from June 11 through June 30 on the newscasts of channels 2, 4 and 7.

The industry ads reached an estimated 14 million households over the four-week period – approximately 700,000 households each day. Along with the Building Congress, the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater New York and the Building Trades Employers Association contributed $100,000 to the campaign. Another $50,000 was contributed by the New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council.

Also in June, Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson testified before the Economic Development Committee of the New York City Council in support of the sports and convention center. Along with expansion of the Jacob Javits Convention Center and extension of the Number 7 subway line, Anderson called it a key component in the comprehensive planning process for the entire far west Midtown Manhattan.

“Beyond creating 18,000 construction jobs from 2005 to 2009 and 6,900 permanent jobs thereafter, the new Center will be an enormous economic engine for the New York region. It will solidify Manhattan's unique one-of-a-kind role in the global economy,” Anderson testified.

Earlier this year, a Letter to the Editor from Anderson in support of the Bloomberg administration's West Side plan, dubbed “Hudson Yards,” was