In this issue:
· AIANY Helps Change Permit Approval Process
· New Practices Will Bring Brazil to the Center this Summer
· DOT Releases New Commercial District Sidewalk Pigmentation Regulations
· e-Calendar

AIANY Helps Change Permit Approval Process
On 06.15.11, AIANY Policy Director Jay Bond sent a letter to Chapter members announcing a series of changes to the permit approval process, for which the Chapter was actively advocating. The letter read, in part, “Through the ‘Get It Done Together’ pilot program, the Department of Buildings was able to expedite the approval of 385 construction projects in May, generating an estimated $262 million worth of economic activity. The launch follows a series of outreach efforts by AIANY, which, through our Policy Board, identified this issue as the greatest concern for our members back in 2009… We are delighted that this advocacy effort produced some reform, and we are now emboldened by the response and success the Department of Buildings is having with this pilot program.” Bond is encouraging Chapter members to contact him with further input on the issue. Contact him at jbond@aiany.org.

New Practices Will Bring Brazil to the Center this Summer
On 07.14.11, the AIANY New Practices Committee and the Center for Architecture will welcome an exhibition of new works by emerging Brazilian architecture and design firms, entitled, “New Practices São Paulo.” On view will be the winning entries of a competition administered by the São Paulo Department of the Instituto de Arquitetos do Brasil (with the help of AIANY’s New Practices committee). Featured will be work by seven recently established firms: Metro Arquitetos Associatdos; Vazio S/A Arquitetura e Urbanismo; Triptyque Arquitetura; 23 Sul; Yuri Vital Architect; PAX.ARQ; and Arkiz. This is the committee’s third biennial event at the Center for Architecture. The winner of the New Practices New York 2010 competition will also travel to São Paulo for an exhibition which will open at São Paulo’s International Architecture Biennial in Oscar Niemeyer-designed OCA Pavilion on 11.01.11.

DOT Releases New Commercial District Sidewalk Pigmentation Regulations
In response to requests for widely-varying distinctive sidewalk paving on commercial streets, and concerns raised about a mismatched patchwork appearance of sidewalks in NYC, the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) promulgated a new rule (Title 34, Chapter 2, Section 2-09(f)(4) of the Rules of the City of New York), which created a new sidewalk specification standard with specific pigmenting and scoring requirements. As of 2010, sidewalks in certain commercial districts must be constructed of tinted concrete. This rule covers commercial districts zoned C4-4 through C4-7, C5 and C6 (see map on page 105 of the Street Design Manual). Any time a new sidewalk installation or at least half of the sidewalk abutting a property is replaced, tinted concrete must be used.

The standard, set forth in section 4.13 C of the DOT Standard Highway Specifications, consists of dark gray pigmented concrete with saw-cut joints and a broom finish. The color of the pigmenting is described in section 4.13.4(H) and the method for saw-cutting and broom finishing is described in section 4.13.4(F)2. Property owners have the option of adding silicon carbide to the surface of the concrete, as well.

eCALENDAR
eCalendar includes an interactive listing of architectural events around NYC. Click the link to go to eCalendar on the Web.