NYC’s First Gold LEEDs Building Opens

	The Hearst Tower is designed to be 26 percent more energy efficient than a standard office building.

After three years of construction, the Hearst Tower's distinctive triangular "green" design has received official green status by the U.S. Green Building Council for high environmental performance. The 46-story, 856,000-square-foot midtown structure opened in New York City October 9 as the city’s first Gold LEED-certified building.

With a sustainable “diagrid” design, the exterior is a series of four-story, stainless steel triangles on a facade of floor-to-ceiling glass, allowing the office and plaza areas to be flooded with natural light. In addition, its frame eliminates the need for 2,000 tons of steel that a conventional frame would employ.

Website Searches for Specific Construction Activity
Looking for construction activity specific to your neighborhood? Try My Community. Part of the New York City Department of Buildings online Building Information System, a database of over 950,000 properties located throughout New York City's five boroughs, the new user-friendly website feature searches by address or community board, and makes it easier to obtain lists of new building permits, major alterations and full demolitions in any given local community board. Requested data is produced in a simple, easy-to-use, list format.

eFiling Wins 2006 Excellence in Technology

The New York City Department of Buildings’ online eFiling system for electrical permit applications has been selected as the 2006 Excellence in Technology Award as winner for Best Application Serving the Public. eFiling enables registered electricians to file electrical permit applications on the Internet and receive their permits online, reducing the processing time for an application from several weeks to a matter of minutes.

Since it went live in March 2006, the eFiling system has been a significant component of the Department's effort to make it easier and faster for the public to do business with them. To date, approximately 10,000 applications have been filed online, accounting for over one-third of the total volume of electrical permit applications processed.

Code Council Thinks Green in D.C.

	Rick Weiland stands outside ICC’s world headquarters in the National Association of Realtors Building in Washington D.C.

ICC has moved its world headquarters to the heart of Washington, D.C., and into a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified building in the nation's Capitol.

"Our new world headquarters will be just two blocks from the U.S. Capitol Building," said ICC CEO Rick Weiland. "Having our offices in a LEED-certified green building in D.C. shows our corporate commitment to respect the environment. Green technology is going to play an important role in our collective future—not just in the United States but around the world."

Amer and Lancaster Earn Achievement Awards

	Fatma Amer (left) accepts the Distinguished Service Award from Commissioner Lancaster.

Buildings Department Deputy Commissioner for Technical Affairs and Chief Code Engineer Fatma Amer, P.E., was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the New York Society of Architects on November 8 during its 100th annual award ceremony. The annual award program honors outstanding achievements in the industry. On behalf of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster also accepted the Distinguished Achievement Award.

NY's Tim Carey Appointed to USGBC Board
Timothy S. Carey, President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Power Authority, has been appointed to the 2007 Board of Directors for the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The Council is a national coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry. It works to encourage development of buildings that are healthy places to live and work, profitable to build and operate, and environmentally responsible.

New York City Responds
NYC Department of Buildings Commissioner Patricia Lancaster and other officials joined Mayor Bloomberg on October 11 at the upper east side condominium where a small plane crashed into the building. Mayor Bloomberg praised the response of City officials by saying, "The Office of Emergency Management has run drill after drill after drill, and has sat with both [the Police and the Fire Department] to make sure that when we have to work together, we know what each person’s and each agency’s responsibility is. And they did exactly what they were supposed to do."

ICC Out and About in New York
The New York State Building Officials Conference (NYSBOC) held its December Delegates Meeting in Binghamton, New York, on December 1 following a holiday celebration the evening prior hosted by the Southern Tier ICC/NYSBOC Chapter. Kevin Ezell, NYSBOC Delegate for the Southern Tier Chapter, was presented with an ICC Golf Shirt for his representation of his chapter in presenting code change proposals at the 2006 ICC Annual Business Meeting and Hearings in Orlando, Florida. Delegates representing 15 NYSBOC Chapters from around the state attended this meeting to discuss issues affecting the organization, including active participation in the upcoming ICC Final Action Hearings scheduled for May 2007 in Rochester, New York.

Central ICC/NYSBOC Chapter President Neil Smith presents Secretary Cindy Heid with an appreciation award at their annual holiday luncheon in Liverpool, NY. ICC Board Director Ronald Piester and ICC Director of State and Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris were in attendance.		ICC Board Director Ronald Piester (center) and ICC Fire Services Activities Regional Manager Dan Lane (left) swearing in New York State Fire Marshals & Inspectors Association President Bruce Johnson at its annual conference in Montour Falls, NY.
ICC Director of State and Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris illustrates I-Code concepts to AIA's Mark Vincent Kruse during the AIA 2006 Convention recently held in Garden City, Long Island. ICC was one of the exhibitors.		Officers and delegates of the Central New York NYSBOC Chapter were sworn in and presented with a Central NYSBOC ICC Chapter banner by ICC Board Director Ronald Piesterand ICC Director of State and Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris during a November 16 meeting. Above, ICC Board Director Ronald Piester (left) swears in President Neal Smith. The Central New York Chapter was approved in September by the ICC Board of Directors.
New York Secretary of State Christopher Jacobs was the keynote speaker at the 14th Annual Capital District Building Officials Educational Conference. Pictured above are ICC Capital District NYSBOC Chapter President Robert Cordell (fourth from left), ICC Director of State and Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris, Secretary of State Christopher Jacobs (sixth from left) and the officers of the chapter.
ICC Board Director Ronald Piester and ICC Fire Services Activities Regional Manager Dan Lane swearing in the officers of ICC chapter Monroe County Fire Marshals and Inspectors Association. (L-R) Lane, Piester, Jeff Wilkinson (President), Christopher Roth (Vice President) and Pat Inzer (Secretary/Treasurer). Piester, Lane and ICC Director of State and Local Government Relations Dorothy Harris attended the chapter's annual holiday luncheon.