Infrastructure Projects - Construction Technology
A Practical Guide to Construction Techniques and Practice
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I'd like to speak about Urban Development Corporation's and projects sponsored by the government. I must admit, I was always rather suspicious of these - very, very skeptical about who benefits from these. My mind was changed when my wife and I stood on this massive landfill together with tens of thousands of people in the evening, we watched the fireworks in the Hudson River. It was a spectacular, unforgettable evening. First of all, I thought Manhattan was fixed size, and now suddenly, many acres had been added to the island and the behavior of the people, you know, thousands of people, no evidence of police. Everyone was orderly and having a wonderful evening, watching the fireworks. This became imprinted in my mind as a capability that I didn't know we had, but we were pulling it off here on the sight of the future Battery Park City.
This is where I did my power walk in the morning. This has since been developed to extend for miles and miles along Manhattan. At the time, it was pretty much limited to Battery Park City. It was the only place I know of in the city where you could actually gain access right to the water's edge and when you finished your power walk, you could always stop for a coffee.
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That brings us to 42nd Street. Frankly, I didn't have much problem with the seedy 42nd Street. I lived in Manhattan all of my life. This is something I just came to understand as part of the fabric of life in New York City. This is another public development project, which succeeded in getting rid of all the porno on 42nd Street. This is very close to my heart, because I played a leadership role in this, and actually was the President of a Public Development Corporation engaged in this effort.
I am still amazed by the quality of the people involved in these projects. They are the best and brightest people I've ever met. Every day we would come to work with one goal in mind to achieve the greatest result for the public. Time after time, these projects have been able to do exactly that. Here's 42nd Street. Now, many of the old theaters have been restored and many new businesses thriving on the street.
There's the restored gantry. The building just behind it is the building we will be examining in this class. It's a good example of a high-rise building, constructed using a concrete frame. You'll see just how quickly a building like that can go up.
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