By: Paul A. Ochoa, NYC DDC Commissioner
Thirty years ago, New York City made a quiet decision that would reshape nearly every neighborhood in the five boroughs. It created the Department of Design and Construction—a small but mighty agency charged with delivering the infrastructure that keeps New York running.
Since then, DDC has completed more than 5,000 projects that have changed the way New Yorkers live, work, and move through their city: transforming Times Square and the Meatpacking District into world-renowned public spaces, installing thousands of miles of new sewers and water mains, building libraries, police precincts, and fire houses, modernizing Parks recreation centers, and even constructing Marine Transfer Stations that revolutionized how the City moves its waste.
DDC has been there for New Yorkers through tough times in the true spirit of public service. At just a few years old, DDC was charged with handling the aftermath of one of the country and city’s darkest days: the cleanup and rebuilding of Ground Zero after 9/11. Our agency showed that it was equipped to handle major and challenging jobs. It happened again in the COVID-19 pandemic, when we led the emergency and speedy construction of COVID test and vaccination sites to protect New Yorkers in just a matter of weeks.
Now, we are combating the effects of climate change by managing the largest coastal resiliency program in the nation; one that will provide protection to hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers living in flood zones.
And one of our most important projects is the building of the Borough-Based Jails (BBJ) that will lead to the closure of perhaps the most infamous jail in the nation on Riker’s Island.
Right before DDC turned 30, I had the honor of being appointed by Mayor Mamdani to lead the agency as its Commissioner. Over the past couple of months, I have met with hard-working engineering, design, and project management teams. As their Commissioner, my commitment is to give the agency all the tools it needs to continue delivering high-quality projects for the next 30 years.
To be our best, we must find ways to build faster and more efficiently. This includes having flexibility that other cities and public authorities have been using for years, like Alternative Delivery. The use of these tools is somewhat limited right now for DDC, but with the help of lawmakers in Albany it could be the agency’s superpower.
We have already successfully completed projects with Alternative Delivery, like Construction Manager-Build (CM-Build) and Design-Build, through pilot programs. DDC used CM-Build during the pandemic to build test and vaccination sites faster. CM-Build allows for faster and more efficient construction, currently authorized for cultural institutions and libraries. Additionally, the use of Design-Build drastically accelerates project construction timelines by bundling the design and construction into one contract and having the Design-Build team work together from the start of a project. This allows projects to reach communities faster while saving costs. We’ve successfully used Design-Build on several projects, including the state-of-the-art Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center in Brooklyn, which was completed at least three years faster than would have been possible under the traditional system of lowest bidder contracting, and with a projected ten percent cost savings. Every day in our complex, intertwined and robust city should be treated like an emergency. These tools are up for renewal in Albany in 2027.
Design-Build also ensures higher M/WBE participation for capital projects, a priority for the agency and the Mamdani Administration. For years, DDC has expanded opportunities for minority and women owned firms to access City contracts and grow their businesses. And we are committed to workforce development and local hiring. Last September, the agency kicked off renovation of the Baisley Park Library in Southeast Queens. The project was DDC’s first capital construction project to launch under the City’s new Community Hiring requirements, which aims for 30 percent of construction trade labor hours to be completed by NYCHA residents or individuals who live in low-income communities.
And last but not least on the list of tools needed to build better: Joint Bidding. Much of our “bread and butter” infrastructure work includes upgrading critical water mains and sewers below the City’s busy streets. When working underground, coordination between the city, contractors, and private utilities is essential. To streamline coordination and enhance oversight, the New York State Legislature passed the first Joint Bidding law in 2004. Joint Bidding allows the City to bid public and private utility work under a single contract. We anticipate that the Governor will sign the one-year renewal that passed the Legislature this session extending the law for one-year until the end of 2027, and we will be back in Albany next year to seek a longer reauthorization.
The hard costs in dollars and cents to the city are real when projects are delayed, but the soft costs to our communities are even higher - small businesses and residents should not have to see open streets and projects stall for years.
Building by building, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, DDC is creating New York City’s future. Alongside dedicated men and women union workers, we are delivering the critical infrastructure and public spaces our communities need – they are essential for all of our work.
My wish for DDC’s 30th birthday is to have access to the tools needed to continue building for this great City, ensuring vital public resources are available for all New Yorkers.
The results are everywhere. Yet the work is far from finished.