With faculty and students diligently and safely continuing to work from their homes and slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the CEO and president of New York City’s School Construction Authority believes it is the right time for school construction to continue once federal stimulus funding is received.
The $2 trillion federal stimulus packages deemed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or the CARES Act, was signed into law on March 27, 2020, offering tax breaks and small business loans to construction and engineering firms. Until then, the Authority had halted 670 New York projects and ordered residents to stay six feet away from each other and to work remotely.
Now the city has resumed construction of five schools throughout the city. These projects include remodeling computer stations, making cafeterias easier to clean, and restructuring faculty space—all to abide by the state governments novel social distancing guidelines, with these projects totaling $302 million.
“This is a good time to get construction done,” stated Authority President and CEO Lorraine Grillo during an online Q&A. “But with the current [COVID-19 pandemic], there is a cash flow crisis in the city. If the federal government could come through, we could do exactly that and get things done.” More projects on the top of the President and CEO’s list include the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project as well as water and sewer projects in South East Queens.
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