Four Dewberry Projects Recognized with ACEC NY Engineering Excellence Awards

Asm. Angelo SantaBarbara, Rep. Paul Tonko, DASNY's Dir. of Planning, Design and Quality Assurance Sandy Daigler

Firm’s consulting engineering services recognized for projects across New York City and surrounding areas.

Dewberry will receive four Engineering Excellence Awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York (ACEC - NY) during the 2018 Engineering Excellence Awards gala on April 7, 2018.

The Engineering Excellence Award winners are selected among submissions from more than 60 member firms and are judged by various criteria, including complexity, innovation, and value to society. The awards are presented to both public and private sector projects that are judged by a panel of industry experts, including military and government officials, ACEC national and international leaders, educators from college and university engineering departments, and leadership from other organizations dedicated to the built environment. Dewberry projects will be awarded platinum, gold, and two silver awards.

Platinum Award -- Red Hook Integrated Flood Protection System

The Red Hook Integrated Flood Protection System will be awarded platinum in the studies, research, and consulting engineering services category. Ten he project is a $100 million federally funded coastal protection initiative aimed at reducing flood risk due to coastal storms and sea level rise in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. It is part of New York City's multilayered $20 billion resilience plan being implemented in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.

Dewberry performed a comprehensive year-long feasibility study to determine flood protection options. A multidisciplinary team of civil, mechanical, electrical, and plumbing engineers and architects then developed mitigation plans to reduce the flood risk from future climatic conditions.

Gold Award -- Rebuild by Design Hudson River Feasibility Study and EIS

The Rebuild by Design Hudson River project will be awarded gold in the studies, research, and consulting engineering services category. As prime consultant, Dewberry partnered with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection to prepare a feasibility study and an environmental impact statement. The project included a comprehensive urban water strategy to reduce coastal storm surge and rainfall flood risk in the city of Hoboken and parts of Weehawken and Jersey City.

The project emerged from concepts developed during the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Rebuild By Design Competition, in response to the impact of Superstorm Sandy on coastal communities. The firm developed three build alternatives, considering flood risk reduction, constructability, viability, built and natural environmental impacts, coastal flood and rainfall modelling, utility impacts, subsurface soil conditions, right-of-way impacts, traffic/pedestrian flow, construction cost, and benefit cost analysis. In order to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, the process included more than 50 small group meetings, workshops, and stakeholder engagement and public meetings over 18 months. In October 2017, HUD released $230 million in project funding to move the project into the next phase of design and construction.

Silver Award -- Hunter College Energy Performance Upgrades

The Hunter College Energy Performance Upgrades will be awarded silver in the energy projects category. Dewberry, as part of a joint venture with O'Brien & Gere under contract with DASNY (Dormitory Authority of the State of New York), provided services for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning improvements at the Hunter College East and West Buildings in Manhattan. Through a proof of concept energy analysis, the team predicted an annual electrical energy usage reduction of more than 350,000 kWh per year, translating into more than $50,000 in yearly energy savings or a nearly one-third reduction in electrical costs. The holistic approach to HVAC systems maximized energy efficiency and integrated system performance by combining replacement of older multiple systems with new sophisticated controls system. Automation of the HVAC system using the Direct Digital Control System provides real-time view of system performance and individual components.

While the primary challenge of this project was keeping the building functional during construction, the team also successfully worked with the physical limitations of access to mechanical spaces, location of Variable Airflow Volume units in occupied spaces and seasonal construction restraints at a major higher education facility.

Silver Award -- Governor's Office of Storm Recovery Community Reconstruction Program: Greater Amsterdam Standby Generator Project

The Greater Amsterdam Standby Generator Project, which was designed by Dewberry under contract to DASNY for the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery Community Reconstruction Program, will be awarded silver in the special projects category. Dewberry provided consulting engineering services for the installation of standby power generators with capacity ranging from 35KW to 250KW at five facilities in the greater Amsterdam area of Montgomery County, New York. Before the installation of this project, during any inclement weather condition such as flooding or winter storms, these sites were prone to losing utility power for prolonged periods and the facilities were closed during power outage. The standby generators will provide power and allow the operation of critical municipal facilities, including Amsterdam City Hall, the Department of Public Works building, Amsterdam High School, and Amsterdam Town Hall while utility power is unavailable. The generators will also allow two additional facilities to operate as emergency shelters during catastrophic events.

"DASNY is proud to have partnered with Dewberry and the Governor's Office of Storm Recovery to support an upstate New York community hard-hit by Hurricane Irene," said Dr. Gerrard P. Bushell, president and CEO of DASNY. "Under Governor Cuomo's leadership we are helping ensure that the City and Town of Amsterdam are building back stronger and smarter than ever before, and will be able to meet future emergency needs."