The New York Building Congress is a membership coalition of the design, construction and real estate community. Building Congress members promote responsible design and development and are committed to working with government to ensure the delivery of quality products and services. We support steps to encourage quality-based selection of design services by City agencies and strongly endorse Intro 523-A.
The Building Congress endorsement is based on two important considerations:
- QBS Costs Less in the Long-term - The services of architects and engineers are highly-specialized and do not lend themselves to the "lowest responsible bidder" procedure. The scope of work is often difficult to determine up front, and the project requirements are not always well-defined. Therefore, the low-bid proposals are usually not comparable in scope. Lower cost designs often do not take into account the full scope of the project and can result in higher construction costs. The current low-bid system, put into effect during the 1989 charter revision, discourages creativity and flexibility in the design process, and ultimately costs the city in time and money.
- QBS is Good Public Policy - This bill is modeled after a federal law called the Brooks bill, which requires the federal government to select firms and individuals for architectural, engineering and related services on a best qualified basis and competitive negotiation. In addition, qualifications-based selection is in effect in more than 25 states, including New York and New Jersey. Government has a responsibility to ensure that projects are designed in a manner that is safe, innovative, environmentally sound and cost-effective. By selecting proposers based on experience -- the City can encourage the use of innovative technology, creative solutions, and make the construction process more predictable in terms of time and costs.
We urge the City Council to pass this legislation. It will be a major step forward for the City of New York and will foster a more productive relationship with the design profession.
