Annual Report 2010

New York Building Foundation

The New York Building Foundation was formed more than a decade ago to complement the work of the Building Congress through a program of targeted philanthropic, research and educational activities. By marshaling the talents and goodwill of the industry, the Foundation looks for opportunities to promote the industry's contributions to the region, expand its reach, and help prepare for the next generation of growth and innovation.

Education
One of the most important ways the Building Foundation serves the industry is through its financial support of existing programs that recruit, educate, mentor and inspire tomorrow's design, construction and real estate professionals. In 2009 alone, the Foundation contributed $20,000 to support scholarship programs for students of the Urban Assembly School of Design and Construction in Manhattan and the ACE Mentor Program of Greater New York, and to support the Salvadori Center's annual design challenge which involves more than 100 local students and their mentors.

A new initiative in 2009 was a grant of $25,000 to Out2Play, an organization that raises funds to build playgrounds for public elementary schools without adequate playspaces. The Building Foundation contribution supported construction of a new playground for PS147 in Brooklyn, which was officially opened in April 2010. The Building Foundation hopes to continue its support of Out2Play until the organization's mission to provide adequate play areas for all City public schools is complete.

Training and Recruitment
In 2009, the Building Foundation awarded $5,000 to Nontraditional Employment for Women (NEW) to continue its New York Building Foundation Career Advancement Fund, which helps provide training opportunities and funding resources for women-owned small businesses. NEW is an organization devoted to advancing opportunities for women in the construction trades that, since 2005, has already placed more than 800 women in union jobs in all areas of construction.

Research
The Foundation makes important contributions to public policies concerning design, construction and real estate, as well as the City's economic future, through rigorous research of timely and relevant issues. The Foundation continues its collaboration on the New York City Construction Outlook series, a franchise that has been expanded to include monthly updates, in large part, due to additional research funding by the Foundation. The series has become an extremely valuable resource for members, public officials and media throughout the City.

Good Neighbors
The Foundation's pilot program called "Construction for a Livable City", which began in 2008, enlists developers and contractors to voluntarily implement improvements to the design, quality and character of construction site sidewalk arcades, fences and barriers so ubiquitous - and often offensive - throughout the City. The intent of this program, modeled after a successful British initiative, is to help minimize the inconvenience a project can inflict upon area residents and workers, and support ways to acknowledge organizations whose worksites are models of efficiency and attractiveness.