Registration is still open for the Tri-State Convention September 21-23, 2011 at Bally's in Atlantic City, NJ. The early bird rate has been extended to August 31, 2011. After this date, the registration will increase by $50.

     This design conference features continuing education classes, two keynote sessions, an ice-breaker reception, the AIANYS Design Awards Dinner & Presentation, a one day Product Showcase with over 85 booths to visit, 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. This year the convention offers 1, 2 and 3 hour learning modules.

     To register for the Tri-State Convention, go to www.myprereg.com/events/AIA11.

If you have questions regarding registration, please call 609-393-5690.

     Special thanks to the Tri-State Convention Sponsors: Verizon, Phantom Screens, Zetlin & De Chiara, Powell Trachtman Logan Carrle & Lombardo, P.C., Hubbell Galvanizing, Prosurance Redeker Group Ltd., L'Abbate, Balkan, Colavita & Contini, L.L.P., Petty Burton, RPM Development Group, Shen Milsom Wilke, LLC, Belgard Hardscapes, Naylor LLC, Fasithful & Gould, Imaginit Technologies and Urban Digital Solutions.

     The AIANYS Nominating Committee met via conference call in June. Each of the following candidates was found to have met the qualifications for nomination. The officers, the Associate Director and Regional Director will be elected at the Annual Meeting which will be held during the Tri State Convention on Wednesday, September 21, 2011. Kelly Hayes MacAlonie, AIA, AIA Buffalo/Western NY will serve as President in 2011.

President-Elect-F. Eric Goshow, AIA, AIA New York

Vice President, Government Advocacy-Timothy Boyland, AIA, AIA Staten Island;

                                                                 John P. Goodman., FAIA, AIA Central New York

Vice President, Public Advocacy-Raymond Beeler, AIA, AIA Westchester + Hudson Valley

Secretary-Randolph Collins, AIA, AIA Eastern NY

Treasurer-Jeffery Smith, AIA, AIA Southern NY

Associate Director-Nicolette Feldser, Assoc. AIA, AIA Central NY

      The Regional Director Nominating Committee met via a conference call. The AIANYS Regional Director Nominating Committee has announced the candidate who met the qualifications to run for the New York Regional Director to the AIA Board: Anthony Schirripa, FAIA, AIA New York.

     Two AIANYS Associate members Ting Li, Assoc. AIA and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA are the winners of the Architect Barbie Dream House Competition. A panel of jurors selected 5 finalists from 30 submissions and then the public decided the winners. A $1,000 donation will be made in their name to CHAD, a charter high school in Philadelphia focused on architecture and design.

     "The introduction of Architect Barbie really excited us, as our profession and especially female architects are being celebrated. We took on this competition as a fun project and a bonding experience between two good friends and the result was more rewarding than what we had expected. Even though our design will not be realized, we still appreciate the exposure and interest this project has received, and we are grateful to AIA and Mattel for giving us this amazing opportunity. We also hope that it will help inspire little girls to enter and to stay in our profession. Being an architect is such a wonderful thing- the versatility of architecture opens up possibilities to explore and work on many different things," said Ting Li, Assoc. AIA and Maja Paklar, Assoc. AIA.
      For more information and to view the winning design, go to: http://info.aia.org/aia/architect-barbie.cfm

     Approximately 50 members of the Bethune Chapter of the Society for Architectural Historians and the AIA Buffalo/Western NY Chapter, gathered in June at the historic chapel in Forest Lawn in Buffalo for a special birthday celebration to honor Louise Bethune on what would have been her 155^th birthday.

     Born on July 21, 1856, Louise Bethune graduated from high school in Buffalo and went to work for several local architectural firms, where she mastered her drafting and architectural design techniques. She is credited with the design of the Hotel Lafayette in downtown Buffalo, Offerman Stadium and more than 18 schools in the area. Her professional reputation brought her admission to the Western Association of Architects in 1885. Louise was a major organizer in 1886 of the Architects Association in Buffalo, called the Buffalo Society of Architects until 1891, when it became the Buffalo Chapter of the AIA. In 1888, she was elected to membership in the AIA; in 1889, she became its first woman Fellow. She was an active AIA member throughout her career and held the chapter offices of vice president and treasurer.

     Louise Bethune died in 1913. She is buried in Forest Lawn with her husband, Robert Bethune. A plaque was erected in her honor in Section 10 by the AIA Buffalo/WNY Chapter during the AIANYS Convention in September 2001. It was made possible with a grant from the AIA College of Fellows.

Photo 1: Standing outside the historic chapel at Forest Lawn are, from left to right, Jennifer Walkowski, Acting President of the Louise Bethune Chapter of SAH; Robert Traynham Coles, FAIA; Kelly Hayes McAlonie, President Elect AIANYS; Margo Davis portraying Louise Blanchard Bethune, FAIA; Robert Shibley, FAIA and Clinton E. Brown, FAIA.

Photo 2: Guests at the Louise Bethune birthday party in Forest Lawn's historic chapel sang "Happy Birthday" and toasted Louise Bethune with champagne and birthday cake.

     AIA New York will be holding Lower Manhattan Rising-Looking Toward September 11, 2011 Forum on September 8, 2011 from 9 AM to 5 PM at the Center for Architecture.

The panel will feature professionals involved in the planning, design and development of the World Trade Center. This conference will look to the future of the emerging Lower Manhattan community and the economic, development, and cultural implications of its continued growth.

     For more information, go to: http://cfa.aiany.org/index.php?section=calendar&evtid=3515.

     The AIA New York Chapter which opened the Center for Architecture almost 8 years ago, recently announced that the Center will be expanding to the adjacent storefront to the south, located at 532 La Guardia Place. This will add 1, 200 square feet of ground floor space. The new design will be completed by Rogers Marvel Architects.

Expanding the facilities and the services provided are aspects of the AIANY's value proposition growing out of the Chapter's 2010 Strategic Plan.

     For more information, go to: http://aiany.aiany.org/corecode/uploads/pressroom/uploaded_pdfs/corecode_aianyaia/Release_532_LaGuardia_Place_08-01-11_253.pdf.

Pictured: 532 La Guardia Place

Photos Courtesy the Center for Architecture

     AIA Peconic is holding a Golf & Dinner Event on September 13, 2011 at Long Island National Golf Club in Riverhead to benefit their Scholarship & Education Fund. Registration and lunch starts at 11AM, shotgun start at Noon. For more information, go to www.aiapeconic.com or http://www.aiapeconic.org/documents/2011GolfBrochure.pdf

     AIANYS President David L. Businelli, AIA visited the AIA Peconic Chapter on August 11, 2011 in Southampton, NY. He attended the Chapter meeting, which was held at the Southampton Historical Museum and Research Center.  Winners of the Chapter's scholarship program attended, and a CES presentation was made by Revco Lighting on LED lighting. On August 12, the Chapter treated David to a deep sea fishing trip out of Montauk, NY.

Pictured (left to right) are AIA Peconic Chapter President Andrew Weiss, AIA, David Businelli, AIA and Chapter member Greg Zwirko, AIA, along with a portion of the day's catch.

     Members of the AIA State Government Network recently attended the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) Legislative Summit in San Antonio, TX. This is the largest meeting of the year for legislators and legislative staff. This year over 4,800 people attended the summit! The SGN members were there to provide general info on the value added to the community by architects.

     AIA State Relations and Codes Advocacy staff worked in concert with allied organizations on a policy resolution encouraging high-performing, energy-efficient buildings and building codes, as well as the construction of "green" schools. After unanimous endorsement by the Environment Committee and from the Steering Committee of the Standing Committees (i.e., the panel charged with sending policy measures to the full NCSL membership for approval), the measure was halted during the business meeting and sent back to the Environment Committee for additional consideration.

     Burt Roslyn, FAIA, Past President of AIANYS said, "I thought it was important that we had a mix of members, local advocacy leaders and national staff who attended. The mix gave us the ability to engage in broad dialogues on issues of importance across party and local lines. It gave legislators an opportunity to engage in exchanges on issues as varied as disaster relief, green codes and the impact of an architect's involvement in the broad built environment."

Photo 1: Pictured (left to right) The following SGN members helped man the booth at the NCSL conference: David Lancaster, Lobbyist, Texas Architects, Michael Lingerfelt, AIA, President AIA FL, Ben Tiseo, FAIA, Government Affairs Chairman AIA Michigan, Mark Christian, Director of Legislative Affairs, AIA CC and Burt Roslyn, FAIA, SGN Advisory Panel Chairman.

Photo 2: Pictured (left to right): Burt Roslyn, FAIA, Stephen R. Morris, Kansas Senator, President NCSL and Angie Taylor, Director, State Relations, AIA National.

     The AIA National Associates Committee publishes a report every month sharing associate news and viewpoints. The August issue includes announcements, NCARB news, Regional Spotlight and the NAC calendar of upcoming events.

     Click here to view the latest issue.

By: Venesa Alicea, AIA, NAC Regional Associate Director-NY

     The 2011 IDP Coordinators Conference was held July 29-July 30, 2011 in Chicago. Funding was provided for Educator and State IDP Coordinators through NCARB and the AIA respectively. There were 92 Schools, 38 states, and 7 Auxiliary Coordinators represented this year at the conference. The following Coordinators were in attendance from New York State: Thom Penn, NYS IDP Coordinator, 7 Educator Coordinators (SUNY Buffalo, CCNY, Pratt, RPI, RIT, Syracuse), and Goshow Architects Auxiliary IDP Coordinator. Coordinators were given updates on the NCARB Intern Development Program.

The following are some highlights of the conference:

• IDP Eligibility Dates have been revised to include the following options: Enrollment in a NAAB/CACB-accredited degree program; Enrollment in a pre-professional architecture degree program at a school that offers a NAAB/CACB-accredited degree program; Employment in work setting A after obtaining a U.S. high school diploma, General Education Degree (GED) equivalent, or comparable foreign degree. 
• Interns who are enrolled in IDP are eligible for a FREE AIA Transcript, which is necessary in order to document supplementary education: http://info.aia.org/aia/freeTranscriptsforInterns.cfm
• NCARB Practice Analysis will be launched April 2012. Results will inform future of NCARB Intern Development Program and Architects Registration Exam. All are encouraged to participate.  
• ARE e-News: http://www.ncarb.org/are/enews/2011/august/index.html Updated NCARB Exam Guides; AIA Documents Free Though My NCARB for ARE Candidates; The 2010 division pass rates and pass rates by school are now available on NCARB's website. 

     Governor Cuomo recently signed a law allowing municipalities to create land banks to convert vacant properties into uses that support community revitalization.

     Land banks are local entities authorized to take control and redevelop vacant or abandoned properties to where they can better serve the public interest. With many Upstate municipalities suffering from an overabundance in vacant and abandoned properties due to population losses, land banks will give cities and counties a new tool to rebuild communities and foster local economic development.

      The new law will allow cities and counties to create and administer land banks to convert vacant, abandoned or tax-delinquent properties into productive use. These properties could be redeveloped or resold to better balance the supply of buildings with the local demand for them. The land banks will operate under the New York State Urban Development Corporation.

     Governor Cuomo also signed a law to require state and local transportation agencies to consider "complete streets" designs that will make streets and roadways across the state safe and accessible to all New Yorkers.
     Under the new law, "Complete Streets" design principles will be considered on New York State Department of Transportation projects and local and county projects which receive both federal and state funding and are subject to state DOT oversight. "Complete Streets" principles facilitate improved joint use of roadways by all users, including pedestrians, motorists, and bicyclists as well as promote a cleaner, greener transportation system with reduced traffic congestion and the resultant air pollution. Design features may include sidewalks, bicycle lanes, crosswalks, pedestrian control signalization, bus pull outs, curb cuts, raised crosswalks, ramps, and traffic calming measures.
      AIANYS supported both bills in the legislature and urged the Governor to sign them into law.

Social Media Can Help Small Firms Reap Big Benefits Article in AIArchitect

     Check out this interesting article that was recently featured in AIArchitect "Social Media Can Help Small Firms Reap Big Benefits" by Sara Fernandez Cendon. http://www.aia.org/practicing/AIAB090414

     At the request of AIANYS, DASNY has revised the language in Professional Services RFPs in regard to M/WBE Utilization Plans.  This language will be included in the RFP proper, not the Utilization Plan form itself, because the Utilization Plan form is used for many different types of procurements.  The revised language added is as follows:

     "A completed Utilization Plan, included in this RFP as an attachment, listing all proposed sub-contractors including ESDC Certified M/WBE firms you "may" use if selected for this contract. No dollar amounts should be entered at this time. Upon selection a revised plan with dollar amounts will be required. The goals for this contract are X% MBE & X%WBE. The goals refer to the percentage of utilization of your M/WBE sub-contractors."

     The change came about during one of our regularly scheduled meetings of the Public Sector Practice Committee where AIANYS noted that short listed firms submit their cost proposal in a sealed envelope separate from the technical proposal, but the form included in the technical proposal has language that seems to indicate that the total cost must be disclosed. This is in conflict with a Qualifications Based Selection process and DASNY agreed to make the change.

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 in district events in August: Mike Ranzenhofer for Senate and Michelle Schimel for Assembly.