Senate Bill S8414

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8414

SPONSOR: SEPULVEDA
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the Coordinated Construction Act for Lower Manhattan and
chapter 322 of the laws of 2014, relating to joint bidding on contracts
for public work contracts, in relation to extending the effectiveness
thereof

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

The bill would extend the effective date of two laws authorizing the
City of New York to use joint bidding on certain public works contracts.
Specifically, section 1 of the bill would extend the current provisions
of chapter 259 of the laws of 2004, constituting the coordinated
construction act for lower Manhattan, until December 31, 2035. Section 2
would extend the current provisions of chapter 322 of the laws of 2014,
relating to joint bidding on contracts for public works projects, so
that the new sunset date will be December 31, 2035.

Section 3 would provide that the bill take effect immediately.

              

 
REASONS FOR SUPPORT:

Public infrastructure is foundational to New York City. The continued
effectiveness of the Coordinated Construction Act for Lower Manhattan
("Lower Manhattan Act") and chapter 322 of the laws of 2014 ("General
Joint Bidding Law") is critical to New York City's ability to build and
maintain public infrastructure.

Public rights of way generally contain not only municipally-owned utili-
ty services like water mains and sewers but also utility lines for the
transmission of energy and telecommunications. These private facilities
often must be moved or otherwise protected in order for the municipal
work to proceed. The Lower Manhattan Act and General Joint Bidding Law
authorize the City to use "joint bidding" - a process by which the City
identifies the utility interference work required for a public works
project and includes this work as part of the City's bidding process.
When joint bidding is used, one contract is awarded for both the public
work project and utility relocation work. Specifically, the Lower
Manhattan Act permits joint bidding for utility work in connection with
certain projects in Manhattan below Houston Street. The General Joint
Bidding Law permits joint bidding for utility work not otherwise covered
by the Lower Manhattan Act.

Without the Lower Manhattan Act and the General Joint Bidding Law, the
City would not be able to plan for inevitable utility relocation work
necessary when undertaking street improvement projects and other under-
ground critical infrastructure improvement projects for new water mains
and new sewer mains. Instead, the City would have to open up the
streets, direct each individual utility to coordinate their own utility
relocation, and pause the public improvement project while awaiting
utility relocation. During this entire period, the street would remain
open and unusable, and the City would have to pay for the costs of main-
taining the construction site. Residents and businesses located on the
affected street, are directly impacted by delayed utility relocation
work. The Lower Manhattan Act and the General Joint Bidding Law together
resolve those problems by allowing the City to jointly bid out the
public project and the private utility relocation thereby enabling maxi-
mal efficiency and coordination between the City and the utility compa-
nies. The utilities still bear the cost of the relocation, but the use
of joint bidding dramatically improves coordination, phgrtens
construction timelines and reduces overall costs, thereby saving the
taxpayer money and providing a quicker delivery of services.

Both the Lower Manhattan Act and the General Joint Bidding Law are set
to expire at the end of 2025. Extending them will ensure that NYC can
continue to build and maintain the infrastructure New Yorkers need.

Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consider-
ation of this proposal by the Legislature.

Respectfully submitted,

SHANNA F. WITHERSPOON Director