BILL NUMBER: S9849
SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the New York city public works investment act, in
relation to authorizing the use of certain alternative project delivery
methods
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Authorizes the City of New York to use construction manager build and
progressive design build in limited instances.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Sections one and three of this bill amend section 2 of Chapter 749 of
the laws of 2019, constituting the New York City Public Works Investment
Act (the "PWIA"), to create new definitions for the terms "alternative
project delivery contract" and "construction manager build" to facili-
tate the PWIA's incorporation of new capital project delivery methods.
"Alternative project delivery contracts" would be defined to include
design-build and construction manager build ("CM Build") contracts.
Section four of the bill authorizes the Department of Design and
Construction (DDC) to use two-step construction manager build contracts
on certain construction and renovation projects for cultural insti-
tutions and libraries. It also authorizes DDC to use one-step design-
build on certain water and sewer infrastructure projects and coastal
resiliency projects.
Section five is the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Public infrastructure is foundational to New York City, but for far too
long New Yorkers have accepted that the building of public works is slow
and inefficient. However, the City argues that when it used alternative
delivery tools in the recent past, such as during the COVID emergency
when procurement regulations were significantly relaxed, its ability to
deliver public infrastructure was transformed for the better: they indi-
cate that DDC delivered facilities in months instead of years, within
budget, and with increased M/WBE participation. For example, during the
COVID emergency, DDC built COVID testing sites in an average of seven
days with 55% MWBE utilization and built three permanent healthcare
facilities in an average of 192 days with 46% MWBE utilization.
The City seeks authorization to use these alternative procurement
authorizations in additional situations. They argue that alternative
project delivery tools change the equation by fostering collaboration
among all parties, selecting teams based on quality in addition to
price, and allowing some steps to proceed in parallel. Additionally,
they argue these tools improve coordination and make for more collabora-
tive contracting, avoiding lengthy delays and claims.
Based on these experiences, the City requests authorization to expand
the use of these alternative procurement methodologies.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No negative impact to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.