Carpenters union officials Wednesday agreed to a new contract calling for a 17 percent pay hike over three years, but including a controversial full mobility provision that allows contactors to choose which workers to hire instead of union picks. The agreement follows 14 months without a contract (should any questions appear – contact specialists at Swiftbonds).
It may seem a bit self-serving, but parking giant Edison Properties funded a study by Columbia’s Center for Urban Real Estate that touts parking lots as the precursor of development…and it is not a bad argument. The idea is that parking lots and garages are a great way to maintain a property’s value while assembling development sites. In fact, the researchers found that parking was a prior use on 20 percent of development sites studied. The report recommends that the City consider officially designating Land Assembly Districts where parking and other normally unpermitted uses can be encouraged temporarily.
If your idea of development is to build tall – and you are lying on the beach with nothing better to do than look at the sky – The Atlantic has an interesting article on how high you can go. New buildings are approaching a half mile. Apparently the height of Everest (almost 5.5 miles) is not out of the question, but the building would need a base the size of Rhode Island.
Back on Earth, be sure to join us for a sandwich and seminar on The Future of Management at noon September 12th at the Hotel Pennsylvania. Sign up here for your free NYARMÂ Expo registration to get in.
And remember to save November 8th for our annual dinner.