At a press conference last week that was held at Tishman Speyer’s LEED Silver hopeful 555 Mission Street, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom proposed municipal LEED legislation that, if enacted, would be among the most rigorous in the country applying to private construction. Mayor Newsom has vowed to fast-track his signature on the legislation should [...]
December 20th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 1 comment | ContinuedGreen Business Law
Green Insurance Law: Industry Thoughts on BIM and LEED Coverage for Design Professionals
Last week, the AIANYS Statewide Advisory Committee and the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York sponsored the 2007 Annual Joint Session on Current Insurance Issues for Design Professionals. Speakers from a number of prominent insurance companies, including Lexington, Beazley, Zurich, CNA, Liberty, and XL shared their thoughts on the current state of the [...]
December 11th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Green Business Law: Brooklyn Moving Company Trademarks “GothamBoxes”
According to this week’s edition of Crain’s, Brooklyn-based moving company Movers Not Shakers recently received a trademark for the term “GothamBoxes.” The firm distributes these reusable plastic crates to clients rather than cardboard boxes, which it will drop off one week prior to a client’s move and then pick up again one week afterwards. Dubbed [...]
December 4th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
Green Business Law: PNC Registers “Green Branch” with Trademark Office
“Green Branch” is now a registered trademark of PNC Bank. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (”USPTO”) recently granted the mark to PNC, which is actively participating in USGBC’s LEED Portfolio Pilot Program. PNC currently manages forty LEED-certified branch banks in six states, with more on the way. Fifteen of these branches have been certified [...]
November 21st, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued
The Top 5 Legal Issues to Consider on Green Construction Projects
I had the opportunity last week to attend an excellent CLE that was offered by American Land. The program focused on the legal issues that attorneys must remain particularly mindful of when advising clients on green real estate projects. Accordingly, here are gbNYC’s top five legal issues that green construction projects may present to participants. [...]
November 1st, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 7 comments | Continued
LEED-AP Designation Not Just for A/E/C
It’s no surprise that this week’s edition of Crain’s reports an increasing number of real estate brokers, marketing professionals, and, yes, lawyers, who are sitting for the U.S. Green Building Council’s exam in pursuit of the LEED Accredited Professional (”LEED-AP”) designation. (The article is not yet available online). Depending on the industry, though, professionals [...]
October 2nd, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 6 comments | Continued
Revisions to Wicks Law Stall; Albany Vows to Push Forward
Back in March, gbNYC joined various industry leaders in calling on Albany to repeal the Wicks Law, anachronistic 1920s-era legislation that requires municipal owners in the State of New York, including New York City, to use four separate contractors on any construction project greater than $50,000 for general construction, plumbing and gas fitting, heating and [...]
August 7th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 3 comments | Continued
Second Long Island County on Verge of Mandating LEED for Public Projects
It appears that Nassau County on Long Island is about to mandate LEED for public projects greater than 5,000 square feet or budgeted at $1 million or more. County Executive Thomas Suozzi announced at a press conference on Monday in Mineola that his proposal (also sponsored by legislators from Merrick and Oceanside) was approved by [...]
July 27th, 2007 | Stephen Del Percio | 0 comments | Continued