Letter of Support Design-Build

March 8, 2017

Hon. Andrew Cuomo, Governor
Hon. Carl Heastie, Speaker, New York State Assembly
Hon. John Flanagan, Temporary President and Majority Leader, New York State Senate
Hon. Jeffrey Klein, Senate Coalition Leader and Independent Democratic Conference Leader

Dear Governor Cuomo, Speaker Heastie, Leader Flanagan and Leader Klein,

Leaders of business, industry and labor are renewing our support for design-build authorization for New York City. It is critical that New York City agencies be able to use design-build contracting on important infrastructure projects for the City's transportation, water, and sewage systems, as well as schools, health clinics, public housing, police precincts, parks and essential resiliency projects.

Authorizing design-build for New York City must be a top priority this year, especially as the renewal of design-build authorization for the State is discussed. The authority to use design-build will result in significant savings to New York taxpayers and will have an immediate impact on the City's ability to improve and expand its infrastructure.

Design-build provides an efficient and streamlined method of procurement and contracting that would replace the more protracted and inefficient process currently required for many complicated infrastructure projects. Design-build contracts combine the design and construction of a project into a single contract, allowing for more effective collaboration between designers and contractors to better meet the needs of the City. This results in substantial cost savings, accelerated project delivery, and a better quality project.

All states now permit design-build to be used for public projects, according to the Design-Build Institute of America. Here in New York, it has been used widely and realized significant time and money savings. According to the supporting statement in the Executive Budget proposal, design-build has been used by the State Department of Transportation on a wide variety of contracts totaling $1.37 billion, and The Thruway Authority used the design-build procurement process for the $3.9 billion contract for the New NY Bridge.

Across multiple City agencies, the use of this proven project delivery method could save New York City hundreds of millions of dollars on the construction of major infrastructure projects. A survey of City agencies identified $7.3B in projects with an approximate savings of $450M. Just one City agency, NYC Department of Transportation, estimates potential cost savings of 6%, which would total over $300 million on a variety of projects, and a 12 to 24 month time savings. These savings would allow the completion of more vital infrastructure projects, benefitting everyone who lives and works in New York City. The use of design-build will not displace city workers, but instead will increase the City's capacity to do more infrastructure improvements and create new jobs in the private and public sectors.

New York City will commit $89.6 billion in its ten-year capital strategy plan, with 76% of those funds allocated for various infrastructure projects, including school construction, public housing, and health and hospitals. Infrastructure needs in New York City are immense and the option to use design-build will help deliver better projects on a faster timetable for all New Yorkers. We respectfully request that design-build authority for New York City be authorized immediately.

Sincerely,