Building Congress Event
92nd Anniversary Leadership Awards Luncheon
NEW YORK BUILDING CONGRESS HONORS MARY ANN TIGHE, DR. STEVEN CORWIN AND THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY AT 92ND ANNIVERSARY LEADERSHIP AWARDS LUNCHEON
Nearly 1,100 men and women from the design, construction and real estate community gathered on May 15 to pay tribute to Mary Ann Tighe, Dr. Steven Corwin and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority for its heroic response to Superstorm Sandy, during the New York Building Congress 92nd Anniversary Leadership Awards Luncheon at the Hilton New York.
The luncheon also attracted a wide range of public officials, including New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who delivered opening greetings, Mayoral candidates William Thompson, Adolfo Carrion, Sal Albanese, Joseph Lhota and John Catsimatidis, as well as a host of New York City Council members and high-ranking officials from the Bloomberg administration.
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Forest City Ratner CEO MaryAnne Gilmartin, who served as Luncheon Chairman, presented a 92nd Anniversary Leadership Award to CBRE New York Tri-State Region CEO Mary Ann Tighe, saying, "There is no better role model for everyone in our industry – man or woman. I think the glass ceiling shattered just thinking Mary Ann was coming. She has been responsible for 84 million square feet of commercial transactions, and her deals have anchored more than 11 million square feet of new construction in the New York region. It is a career high for me to present this award to my friend, Mary Ann Tighe."
Ms. Tighe devoted her acceptance to saluting the construction industry's extraordinary contributions to the brokerage community and the City's economy. "I am especially honored to be recognized by the women and men who really make it happen," she said, adding that her job is to help clients envision the product of the intellect, vision and hard work of the City's architects, engineers, contractors and skilled labor. "I spin the dream, but you transform the world. And it is I who should be honoring you."
H.J. Kalikow & Company President Peter S. Kalikow presented a 92nd Anniversary Leadership Award to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital CEO Steven J. Corwin MD. Mr. Kalikow, who is a Board Member at NewYork-Presbyterian, credited Dr. Corwin for "spearheading the largest growth in our hospital's history," which includes an ongoing billion dollar expansion project. While Mr. Kalikow praised Dr. Corwin's leadership role in the expansion, he also credited his friend of more than 20 years for never losing sight of the hospital's mission. "He always asks, 'How does this affect the patients?'"
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Dr. Corwin devoted a portion of his acceptance to praise his facilities team as well as the hospital's extraordinary and successful efforts to remain open to serve the community through the Superstorm Sandy and its aftermath. "We were there as a beacon," he said. Like Ms. Tighe, he also had words of praise for the men and women of the construction industry and the role they play in shaping the City. "You cannot have a world-class city without world-class medical institutions. Your industry creates the best buildings in the world and for that I thank you."
New York Building Congress Chairman John M. Dionisio presented Special Recognition to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which was represented by Interim Executive Director Thomas F. Prendergast, for its exceptional performance following Superstorm Sandy.
"Sandy was the most devastating natural disaster to ever strike the MTA network," said Mr. Dionisio, who also serves as Chairman and CEO of AECOM. "Damage to the regional system included flooding of eight subway tunnels, numerous washed-out rail systems, flooding of several stations, many yards and depots. No one could have anticipated the devastation the MTA endured. But the MTA system was restored quickly and effectively. The Building Congress recognizes the repair work still is underway and will continue for some time. But make no mistake about it, the achievements of this fine organization have been nothing short of remarkable and deserve our utmost praise."
In accepting the Special Recognition, Mr. Prendergast, who has been nominated by Governor Andrew Cuomo to serve as Chairman and CEO, said he was humbled to do so on behalf of the MTA's 66,000 employees.
"It is their dedication and their hard work that made the difference in terms of restoring the system as fast as we could. The damage was unprecedented, but fortunately so were the preparations by the agencies and its employees before the storm," he said, adding, "Incredible work was done by incredible people working tirelessly. They said good-bye to their families at the start of the storm, and they didn't come back for many days until the work (of restoring the system's buses and subways) was done."
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Building Congress President Richard T. Anderson told the audience, "We have held this annual celebration since 1921 to bring together the City's design, construction and real estate community. We are deeply grateful for your attendance and generous support in making this the most financially successful luncheon in Building Congress history."
Building Congress Vice Chairman and Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York President Gary LaBarbera presented an appreciation gift to Ms. Gilmartin on behalf of the Building Congress Board. In addition to thanking her for her "exceptional efforts" in making the Luncheon a huge success, Mr. LaBarbera took the opportunity to praise her for working in constant partnership with the building trades to realize their shared vision for Atlantic Yards.
The Underwriters of the luncheon were AECOM, CBRE, Inc., Forest City Ratner Companies, NewYork-Presbyterian and Rudin Management. The Journal Chairman was Thomas Z. Scarangello of Thornton Tomasetti, Inc. The Executive Co-Chairmen were Con Edison, Neil Lucey of Parsons Brinckerhoff; Milo Riverso of STV Group; Lawrence P. Roman of WDF, Inc.; Sciame Construction and Thornton Tomasetti, Inc.
