NEW YORK (WABC) -- It's amazing to watch: a new type of
housing that goes up quickly and is affordable. This way of living is moving
forward, and now a couple of buildings are up in New York City.
It could be a new home, where you just lost a home. It
could be a home where there is a need for more moderate income housing.
Two new modular, prefabricated housing units.
"In the last two years in New York there has
definitely been an upswing in development," said editor in chief Amanda
Dameron of Dwell Magazine.
A new seven story apartment building called "The
Stack" is the first multi-family modular building in the city, developers
say, providing moderate income housing.
Built entirely at a site in Pennsylvania, the 56 modules
were constructed and outfitted in a controlled environment.
They were shipped to the site and after the foundation
and first floor supports were constructed, the modules were hoisted into place
in just 19 days.
"There was a demand for it, even though it didn't
exist yet and so the modular played into that because it gave us the quality of
construction and shorten the time frame," said architect Thomas Gluck.
Gluck's firm is the designer, one of the co-developers
and construction manager on the project.
"This courtyard opens up into that courtyard and
make it feel twice as big," said Gluck.
A two bedroom, two bath unit rents for about $2900 a
month. Most of the units are rented and 20% of them are affordable.
"Actually eager now to take our experiences now and
apply them again," said Gluck.
The prefab modular industry is being closely followed by
Dwell Magazine.
"Now that it is built, how is it going to age? How
is it going to work with the neighborhood context? But it's a great example of
moving the ball forward," said Dameron.
Over in Brooklyn, a three-stor modular unit was built and
is being evaluated by the New York City Office of Emergency Management as
potential urban housing after a disaster with one goal:
"How to build the best quality housing, for the
greatest number of people in the shortest amount of time," said housing
recovery manager Cynthia Barton.
Garrison Architects Design was selected and built, and
the seven modules were assembled in just two days with emergency management
employees like James McConnell living there for a week.
"They get the feeling of spaciousness, a lot of
storage space, all the basics that you would ever need," said McConnell.
And the one and three bedroom units could be used as permanent housing.
"If you can give people the chance to experience a
well-designed environment, not elaborate, they immediately respond to it.
That's something I'd like to live in," said architect James Garrison.
"It continues to offer a promise of living that we
think is exciting, and we hope in an optimistic way is possible," said
Dameron.
Source: 7
Online
West Coast port employers to cut shifts amid labor
dispute
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Companies that handle billions of
dollars of cargo at West Coast seaports said Friday they will hire far fewer
workers this weekend, the latest escalation in a contract dispute with
dockworkers that threatens to shut down a vital link in U.S.-Asia trade.
The association representing port terminal operators
announced its members would not hire crane drivers to move containers on and
off massive ocean-going ships. Instead, employers could order smaller crews to
clear already-unloaded containers from congested dockside yards.
The announcement could foreshadow a full port shutdown as
soon as Monday, or it could be a hardball bargaining tactic designed to force a
contract after nine months of talks.
Congestion has been a huge issue at the West Coast's 29
ports, where containers are taking two to three times longer than usual to
clear dockside yards on their way to distribution warehouses.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has
blamed employers, saying they failed to manage the supply chain efficiently.
The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents shipping companies as well
as port terminal operators, has said for months that workers have slowed their
work by about 50 percent to gain bargaining leverage.
Last month, employers cut crane crews at night, saying
the focus needed to be on decongesting dockside yards.
"After three months of union slowdowns, it makes no
sense to pay extra for less work," maritime association spokesman Wade
Gates said of weekend work in a written statement.
Earlier this week, the maritime association said that as
early as Monday, ports could become so gridlocked with containers there's no
place to put cargo unloaded from incoming ships. The association's CEO said
that "meltdown" point would result in a worker lockout that would
shutter ports that handle about one-quarter of the nation's international trade
- about $1 trillion in commerce annually.
Employers made what CEO James McKenna called their
"best offer" Tuesday, which included wage increases of about 3
percent annually, an increase in pension contributions and the maintenance of
health benefits.
The union responded to his lockout warning by saying that
while a contract deal was close, it would not be bullied.
As contract negotiators for the association and
dockworkers' union met Friday in San Francisco, the shift cutting provoked a
harsh response.
"Closing down the ports over the weekend is a crazy
way to treat customers that only adds to the industry-caused congestion and
delays," union spokesman Craig Merrilees said.
Exporters, including farmers and cattle ranchers, say
their goods are stalled on the docks - while importers of electronics,
textiles, furniture, car parts and a range of other goods made in Asia also are
affected by port congestion.
In response to Friday's development, an association
representing retailers admonished both sides.
"Temporarily suspending port operations is just
another example of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and Pacific
Maritime Association shooting themselves in the collective bargaining
foot," Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain at the National
Retail Federation, said in a statement. "Enough is enough."
Source: NJ
Herald
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