Foundation News

EW Howell - Museum of the City of New York and PS 340

The New York Building Foundation’s Construction for a Livable City (CLC) program encourages best-in-class construction site management to strengthen the industry’s relationship with its neighbors.

CLC underwriter EW Howell is the first participant to apply the CLC checklist of 27 quality construction site management practices to interior renovations. EW Howell is working with the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) on a full renovation of the museum’s north wing and with the School Construction Authority to convert six floors of The New York Foundling, a large nonprofit healthcare and social services agency, to a New York City public school (PS 340). Both buildings remain open during construction, requiring meticulous attention to quality of life and health issues for building occupants.

	EW Howell's HEPA air cleaning system at MCNY.

EW Howell has made maintaining air quality during demolition and construction its top priority. At MCNY, state-of-the-art HEPA ventilation air cleaners circulate clean air within the worksite. Water misters are used during demolition when feasible to keep drywall dust and other debris from travelling. All interior entrances connecting to the occupied parts of the museum are tightly sealed, usually with new temporary two-hour rated walls with doors sealed with tape or weather stripping.

At PS 340, many of the same efforts are underway. Connections between the school and the nonprofit are sealed. EW Howell uses Green Sweep, a non-chemical compound thrown over dust and debris on the floor before sweeping, substantially reducing airborne particulates. All of this is part of a concerted management effort by EW Howell to maintain the worksite as clean and safe as possible.

	Garbage bins are empty; sidewalk is unobstructed.

Construction activity outside both sites is kept to an absolute minimum. No materials are stored outside, demanding reliable, efficient sequencing of materials deliveries. Sidewalks are swept at least daily. Outdoor waste bins are also emptied at least once daily.

At PS 340, the exterior footprint is limited to a small curbside area for waste removal and a temporary emergency generator for The New York Foundling. At MCNY, at the museum’s urging, the materials hoist is in a secure plywood enclosure, creating a safer and more attractive street face. EW Howell and MCNY also coordinate daily to ensure the museum has easy access to its busy loading dock, located within an active work area.

	Ew Howell regularly logs compliance with CLC.

Like all CLC sites, fencing is kept meticulously clean and is freshly painted when defaced by graffiti or posters. Scaffolding and exterior enclosures are free of objects that can tear clothes. On both sites, pedestrian mobility is prioritized. The sidewalk shed is well lit, the shed ceiling is raised, and the sidewalk is kept unobstructed.

EW Howell’s most significant innovation at PS 340 is to give the CLC checklist the same priority as other management requirements. Regular reviews of the checklist are required, with photographs taken of key areas of inspection, which are then put in a CLC binder and kept with the office’s safety checklists.

	Chemical free dust reduction and HEPA air cleaner.

Both projects also received Community Board review before they began. Though EW Howell is not the lead for community engagement on either project, there is a liaison for both projects from the School Construction Authority and MCNY. Work is coordinated so that the most disruptive work happens during early morning or regular business hours in order to minimize noise impacts and other disruptions to museum goers and users of The New York Foundling.

Frank J. Sciame, Chair of the Construction for a Livable City Steering Committee, said, “EW Howell is implementing common sense, cost-effective practices that ensure these high-profile worksites are clean and minimize impacts on workers, other building users, and the community at large. These practices are easy to implement and are an example our industry should closely follow.”

To learn more about Construction for a Livable City, contact Building Foundation Vice President Andrew Hollweck at 212-481-9230 or ahollweck@buildingcongress.com.