AIANYS Architects in Albany Lobby Day is May 3, 2011

     The 2011 Architects in Albany Lobby Day will be held on May 3, 2011. This is your chance to meet with your legislators one-on-one and discuss issues that are important to all architects. Registration, along with continental breakfast will begin at 8:30 AM at the Hampton Inn, 25 Chapel Street. At 9:30 AM there will be a legislative briefing with Richard Leckerling, Esq., Hon. AIA, Legislative Counsel and Edward Farrell, Executive Director. Following the briefing, the chapter's scheduled meetings with legislators will begin.

     To register for Architects in Albany Lobby Day, please contact your chapter. The legislative agenda is now on the AIANYS website. Go to http://www.aianys.org/main/government_advocacy.shtml.  Please have the liaison coordinating the list of your chapter's participants, send the list to Heidi Benjamin at hbenjamin@aianys.org.

     On the homepage of the AIANYS website, www.aianys.org is link to the Lobby Day webinar. If you missed it on April 15, the webinar was recorded in its entirety. Click on the link to hear the two-part program, "Effective Communications With Legislators: Before, During and After Lobby Day." This is a great tool to use to help you prepare for Lobby Day.

AIANYS 2011 Design Awards-Portfolios Due by May 20, 2011!

     Just a reminder that if you registered for the 2011 AIANYS Design Awards that portfolios, checklists and photo releases are due by May 20, 2011. The Design Award Jury will meet in June to decide the winners and the recipients will be notified soon after.

     The 2011 AIANYS Design Award Jury members are: David Mark Riz, AIA, Principal, KieranTimberlake, Philadelphia, PA (Jury Chair); Robert M. Noblett, AIA, Partner, Benisch Arkitekten, Boston, MA; Michael Ryan, AIA, Michael Ryan Architects, Loveladies, NJ; Robert Shibley, FAIA, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo and Elizabeth Egbert, President & CEO, Staten Island Museum, Staten Island, NY (Public Member).

     Once the AIANYS Design Award recipients are announced, they must prepare a design board for display during the Tri-State Convention. All of the AIANYS Design Awards will be presented at the President's Reception, Dinner and Design Awards Presentation on September 22, 2011 at Bally's in Atlantic City.

     New for this year-all AIANYS Design Award recipients will then be entered into the Tri-State Design Awards (at no extra charge). The Tri-State Awards will be given out at a separate ceremony during the convention.

     AIANYS is joining with AIA New Jersey and AIA Pennsylvania for the first-ever Tri-State Convention September 21-23, 2011 at Bally's in Atlantic City, NJ. This design conference will feature continuing education classes, 2 keynote sessions, an ice-breaker reception, the AIANYS Honor and Design Awards Dinner & Presentation, a 1 day Product Showcase, and a Tri-State Design Awards reception. All of the events will take place at Bally's, located right on the boardwalk in Atlantic City.

     You can reserve your room now at Bally's! There is a special room rate of $99 per night! Go to:

http://www.harrahs.com/CheckGroupAvailability.do?propCode=BAC&groupCode=GBTRI.

     Be sure to check www.aianys.org for updates on the Tri-State Convention!

AIANYS Co-Sponsors Statewide Preservation League Code Green Workshops

     AIANYS is co-sponsoring, along with the USGBC NY Upstate Chapter, the Preservation League of NYS's NYS Energy Research and Development Authority energy codes training, Code Green Workshops. This series of regional workshops, held throughout NYS, will focus on energy conservation issues relevant to historic buildings. The first workshop will be held in Schenectady, May 16-17. Following that will be: Syracuse, June 16-17; Plattsburgh, June 24-24; Buffalo, July 14-15; Hempstead, August 4-5 and Elmira, August 18-19.  You can earn 12 LU/HSW/SD credit (6 each day).

     This two day workshop costs $75 and includes lunch. For more information and to register, go to http://www.preservenys.org/CodeGreen/.

     Russell Davidson, AIA, New York Regional Director is running for the AIA office of Vice President. Elections will be held at the AIA 2011 National Convention and Design Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, May 12-14.

     Russ has served on the AIANYS board for 11 years. He was President of AIANYS in 2007, and previously served four years as Treasurer. He currently serves as a New York Regional Director to the AIA Board of Directors. Russ received the AIANYS Matthew W. Del Gaudio Service Award in 2009, and also received an AIA award for a government advocacy program in 2007. He also served as co-chairman of the 2007 and 2008 AIANYS Conventions and is currently serving on the planning committee for the 2011 Tri-State convention. He is also active in his local chapter AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley Chapter, and has served as President.

     Russ is the President of Kaeyer, Garment & Davidson Architects & Engineers, PC of Mount Kisco, NY.  KG&D is a mid-sized firm of approximately 20 licensed architects, professional engineers, interior designers, construction inspectors and support personnel.Russell first joined the firm 25 years ago as a draftsman and became President in 2000.

     To see his full bio, go to: http://aianys.org/images/davidsonboth.pdf.

New York Regional Director Nominating Committee Appointed

     Russell Davidson, AIA, Senior New York Regional Director, has appointed the following Chapter Presidents to serve as the 2011 Regional Director Nominating Committee:
 Margaret O'Donoghue Castillo, AIA, AIA New York Chapter, Chair; James Condon, AIA, AIA Eastern New York Chapter; Penny Haley, AIA, AIA Rochester Chapter.

     This committee recognizes and places in nomination the name of any qualified candidate for whom it has received nomination forms, from three or more constituent organizations, each certified by the chapter President and Secretary. 

AIANYS Member Recognized as Honoree for AIA Diversity Recognition Program

     Carol Kurth, FAIA, AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley, has recently been named an honoree for the 2011 AIA Diversity Recognition Program. Now in its third year, the Diversity Recognition program recognizes architects, component chapters, and others who are actively committed to increasing diversity and inclusion within the architecture profession.
     The three honorees are:

Carol Kurth, FAIA (Bedford, NY)-Fostering Diversity through Teaching, Mentoring and Practice; Dougherty & Dougherty Architects, LLP (Costa Mesa, CA)-Firm-wide Focus on Creating a Diverse Practice; Shepley Bulfinch (Boston, MA)-Forging a Diverse Culture

     Submissions by this year's award recipients will be exhibited at the 2011 AIA National Convention and Design Exposition, and will be on the AIA's Diversity and Inclusion web page in May: www.aia.org/diversity. 

By: Burton Roslyn, FAIA, Past President, AIANYS

     Rarely do I get the chance to write a critique on a continuing education program, but in early April I had the opportunity to attend a program at AIA Peconic Chapter. This program titled "New Solutions for Community Waste Water Treatment" was part of the chapter's continuing series on the Future of the East End. This full day program was held at Suffolk County Community College in Riverhead.

     If we define our institutional role as being a "resource to our members and the public," if our role is to become a "definitive voice on issues," this program met those goals and then some.

     The intent was to address the issues raised by waste water treatment not only on the East End of Long Island, but throughout New York State. This conversation is all too often skipped over with the attitude of "leave it to the civil engineers." Yes they can design a system, but architects as the leaders of the design team and as shepherds of the environment, have a responsibility to lead this discussion.

     The symposium brought together architects, engineers, professionals in water treatment, and public agency participants to review options and plan strategies.

     I congratulate Andrew Weiss as President, Glynness Berry, Chair of the Planning Committee, and all of the committee members for putting this program together.

     For more information on this program, go to http://www.aiapeconic.org/. A tape is available and should be distributed to all as this is a timely and statewide issue.

AIANYS Disaster Response Committee Met with NYS Office of Emergency Management

     Edward Farrell, Executive Director; Lance Brown, FAIA; David Businelli, AIA, President, and Orlando Maione, AIA, Past President (pictured left to right), all members of the AIANYS Disaster Response Corporation Committee, met with the New York State Office of Emergency Management to discuss how AIANYS can  be a resource in New York State's training and response programs. Francis Pitts, FAIA, Regional Director, (not pictured) is also a member of the committee.

     This initial meeting was positive and both sides are eager to pursue the option of training architects to be a resource if an emergency were to occur.

     Illya Azaroff, AIA has been named as the NYS Liaison to the Young Architects Forum. Azaroff is a member of AIA New York and has served as Vice President of Design Excellence, as well as the chair for the AIANY Design Awards committee. He is Principal of +Lab for Experimentation in New York City. He previously served as Director of Design for Design Collective Studio.

     The Young Architects Forum, a program of the AIA and the College of Fellows, is organized to address issues of particular importance to recently licensed architects. 

     AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley will be holding their annual Golf Outing & Tennis Tournament Scholarship Fundraiser on June 14, 2011 from 11 AM to 7 PM at Hampshire Country Club in Mamaroneck. For more information, go to http://aiawhv.org/cde.cfm?event=348260. 

AIA New York Design Awards

     AIA New York held their annual Design Awards Luncheon on April 12 at Cipriani Wall Street. Edward Farrell, Executive Director and David Businelli, AIA, President both attended the luncheon and sat with Rick Bell, FAIA, Executive Director, AIANY.

     AIA Eastern NY led the Capital Region's 1^st CANstruction, a food drive competition where teams of architects and engineers build structures out of canned goods. The structures are on display at the New York State Museum in Albany until April 28, 2011.

Nine teams made up of local architects and engineers bought thousands of cans of food at a significant discount from Price Chopper. When the structures are disassembled, the cans will then be donated to the Food Pantries for the Capital District.

     The teams used a total of approximately 36,000 cans of food, with each team responsible for raising funds to buy its cans.

     CANstruction Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1992, has hosted the food drive and building competition in 150 cities worldwide donating over 10 million pounds of food to food pantries.

     Photo1 : The Orange Wonder Tulip By: EYP-Team 1

     Photo 2: Rock 'Em Sock 'Em CANbots By: CSArch

AIANY's Architects Fast Track Leadership Series Webcasts

     AIANY's Architects Fast Track Leadership Series (AFTL) was an eight session series organized with the goal of preparing up-and-coming firm members--both associates and architects--for the transition to firm leadership, through a practical exploration of practice management topics. There are now webcasts online of the sessions. Here are the links below:

AFTL: Business Development, Marketing, and PR http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=6581

 AFTL: Understanding Clients http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=6367

 AFTL: Human Resource Management http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=6190

AFTL: Risk Management http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=5746

 AFTL: Technology and Information Management http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=5641

 AFTL: Project Management  http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=5446

 AFTL: Financial Management http://eo2.commpartners.com/users/aiany/session.php?id=5252

University at Buffalo Offering CE Course in Costa Rica This Summer

     University at Buffalo/SUNY Department of Architecture is offering a continuing education course (36 CEUs) this summer in Costa Rica.  The course will run June 21-July 1, 2011 in a small community next to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. The cost is $4,300 and includes the course fee, faculty, housing, in-country travel and many meals (airfare and incidentals are additional). This program will include lectures, workshops, field trips, 2 years worth of HSW/Sustainability credits, and visits to alternative energy generation facilities. If demand is high, UB will apply for formal AIA certification of the courses.

     If you are interested, please contact Lynda Schneekloth at lhs1@buffalo.edu by May 10, 2011.

Bill to Repeal the Expanded 1099 Reporting in Health Care Law Passed in Senate

     Congress recently passed the 1099 Taxpayer Protection and Repayment of Exchange Subsidy Overpayments Act of 2011, which repeals the new Form 1099 paperwork requirement that was slipped into the health care reform bill last year. The repeal was a legislative priority for AIA and was actively lobbied at the Grassroots Conference this winter.
     The 1099 provision required small business owners to provide an account to the Internal Revenue Service of many heretofore unreported business transactions. For example, small business owners would have been required to submit a 1099 tax form with the IRS every time they spent more than $600 with a single vendor, resulting in a sizeable increase in paperwork and accounting costs. The bill is now awaiting President Obama's signature.
     For more information, go to: http://www.aia.org/press/AIAB088617.

     The Internal Revenue Code subsection 3402(t) requires that payments by governmental entities for goods or services after December 31, 2011 are subject to 3% income tax withholding, with some exceptions. All of the following government entities are required to withhold: the entire US government, all states and all political subdivisions of a state government. The regulations create a payment threshold of $10,000 and provide the payments below the threshold are not subject to withholding. Withholding is required at the time of payment.

     For more information, go to: http://www.irs.gov/govt/fslg/article/0,,id=204409,00.html

AIANYS PAC Events

     By donating to the NYS Architects Political Action Committee (NYSAPAC), you have helped to fund the opportunity for AIANYS to support the following event in April: Friends of Assemblymember Donna Lupardo held in district and was attended by members of AIA Southern NY.

AIANYS Welcomes New Individual Allied Members

     AIANYS would like to welcome new Individual Allied Members:

Peter Martinez, President, Master Fire Prevention, 1776 E Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY 10460, Phone: 718-828-7171, Email: mfps2@aol.com

Jim Maxson, Promark Insurance Agency, 6470 Main St., Suite 2, Williamsville, NY 14221, Phone: 716-633-8407, Email: jmaxson@promarkinsurance.com

     Allied Membership allows corporations and individuals not otherwise eligible for AIANYS membership to participate in some services.  For more information and the online Allied Membership Application, go to: http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Onsite/Welcome.aspx?e=595c258a-ef44-488d-b1c4-cc6bb3bcf41d.