OPINION: The Case Against Prevailing-Wage Mandates on Brownfield Projects

The Empire State Chapter of the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), representing more than 450 merit-shop contractors and subcontractors employing hundreds of thousands of workers throughout New York state, is calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to reject the proposed prevailing-wage mandates on Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) projects. Since the early 2000s, the BCP has provided developers with much-needed incentives to remediate and revitalize environmentally contaminated sites. This program led to hundreds of contaminated sites, more than half of which are in economically disadvantaged areas, to be cleaned up and developed. These developments create much-needed housing and jobs in the local communities. The legislature clearly sees the value in the program — if not it wouldn’t have been recently extended for another decade. Mandating prevailing wages on BCP projects will make them financially impossible for most owners/developers across the state. Prevailing-wage projects cost about 28 percent more than non-prevailing wage projects, according to the Center for Governmental Research. In addition to this study, the Empire Center for Public Policy found that construction costs are inflated by between 13 percent and 25 percent due to New York’s prevailing-wage law. This cost increase would be added to the already expensive task of environmental remediation for these sites. Prevailing-wage mandates would ensure that instead of communities and landscapes being revitalized, BCP sites remain idle and contaminated eyesores. Despite the irresponsible calls by some legislators to alter this successful program, our members continue to do great work remediating hazardous sites and building key parts of their communities. A recent example of this is seen in Ruby Square, a 713,000-square-foot mixed-use development in New York City’s Jamaica, Queens. The site was redeveloped under the New York State BCP; environmental remediation included the removal of 114,000 tons of contaminated soil. Without the BCP, this site would have remained a rarely used parking lot on toxic soil. Another BCP success story has been the 199–203 Park Club Lane Campus Expansion and Tenant Improvements. This marks a pivotal enhancement in the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s commitment to delivering accessible, world-class cancer care in Western New York. This new facility will increase convenience and reduce stress on some of our most-vulnerable residents. This $23 million renovation wouldn’t have been possible without the current BCP. These projects represent a new start for these previously contaminated sites, allowing communities to flourish and creating jobs for members of those same communities. The BCP has an enormous impact across the state — since its inception, almost 1,800 projects have utilized this program. A prevailing-wage mandate attached to these projects means that they won’t get done — it’s that simple. Maybe the legislators that push for this mandate every year don’t understand the massive negative impact this would have; or maybe they don’t care because scoring rhetorical victories is more important than the material conditions of their voters. That’s a joke to be sure; they know very well the negative impact this change would have because they specifically exempted affordable-housing projects from being affected. The BCP has a positive impact across New York state It is a key factor in rebuilding everything from schools, to housing, to medical facilities. It creates jobs, opportunities, and safer and better-looking communities for us all to enjoy. The BCP works extremely well, but in typical Albany fashion a problem has to be invented to justify a “solution.” Gov. Hochul, we are calling on you to reject these foolish calls for prevailing-wage mandates on BCP projects.       

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Brian Sampson is president of the Empire State Chapter of the Associated Builders & Contractors.