The Subcontractors Trade Association’s 50th Annual Construction Awards Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 11 at the iconic Grand Hyatt in Manhattan.
The STA recently announced the slate of awardees for the night:
The STA is proud to be honoring Ralph Esposito and Lendlease as the Builder of the Year for 2019.
Ralph Esposito, as President – East, heads the construction business for the East Coast Region overseeing all Lendlease project management and construction operations in New York, New Jersey, Boston and Washington, DC.
He provides executive direction for the firm’s operations and growth strategies for the East Coast Region where his leadership motivates personnel to achieve client satisfaction, a safe working environment, profitability and orderly growth pursuant to the overall goals of the firm.
Mr. Esposito played a key role in the construction execution of the September 11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center, the expansion of the Columbia University Manhattanville Campus and the ongoing design-build expansion of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the New York Building Congress (NYBC), The Regional Alliance for Small Contractors (RASC), Non Traditional Employment for Women (NEW), the Building Trades Employment Association (BTEA), the Contractors Association for Greater New York (CAGNY) and the Ace Mentor Program of New York.
The Labor Leader of the Year for 2019 will be presented to Robert Walsh, Business Manager of Iron Workers Local 40.
Bob Walsh has been the Business Manager of Iron Workers Local 40 since 2002. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He has been a Structural Iron Worker since 1963 and is part of 5 generations of an iron working family and very proud of it. He is the son of an iron worker that lost his life on the job back in 1955 when Bob was only 11 years old. He is the brother of two iron workers, father of two iron worker sons John and Andrew and the uncle of four iron working nephews. He is also a grandfather to three iron working grandsons. All of which are members of Local 40, here in New York City which the Walsh family is honored to be a part of.
Both Local 40 and his family are extremely pleased with what Bob has accomplished coming up through the ranks as an Iron Worker, a Shop Steward, a General Foreman, an Executive Board member, Recording Secretary and Business Manager.
Local 40 is exceedingly pleased with his achievements as a Delegate to the New York State District Council of Iron Workers, Delegate and Trustee to the New York City Building Trades, and a Trustee to the Outreach program which assists adolescents, families, and adults in changing their lives and overcoming addiction.
In his capacity as Business Manager, he has managed to change the course of many people’s lives and the lives of their families by organizing workers who had previously worked for countless non-union developers who took advantage of them in the past. These workers are now endowed with fair wages, health benefits including medical, dental, optical, and prescription coverage. In addition, they also have a college tuition reimbursement fund, an annuity and a pension plan to name a few.
Lorraine Grillo, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Design and Construction and President & CEO of the New York City School Construction Authority, is the recipient of the Public Official of the Year Award.
During eight years as President of the NYC School Construction Authority Lorraine Grillo has overseen over $25 billion of construction, producing over 75,000 new school seats and completing thousands of capital improvement projects. She has led the SCA in its effort to find new and innovative ways to address school overcrowding including developing strong public/private partnerships with major developers.
Her team was responsible for the reopening in record time of 71 schools damaged by Hurricane Sandy and the addition of almost 8,800 seats for the Mayor’s Universal Pre-Kindergarten initiative. The SCA began this school year opening eight new primary, intermediate and high school facilities, six new facilities for the UPK initiative and having completed over 300 capital improvement projects.
In July, Lorraine added a completely new set of challenges when she also became Commissioner of the NYC Department of Design and Construction, the City’s primary capital construction project manager that builds public buildings and infrastructure projects for 29 sponsor agencies. DDC’s 1,300+ employees committed over $2 billion in capital funds in 2017 and again in 2018.
Her mission at the agency is to develop ways for DDC to streamline its practices, to better navigate the City’s complex regulatory environment and to renew focus on the timely delivery of great projects.
The 2019 Ronald Berger Subcontractor of the Year Award will be given to Robert Weiss, President of A.J. McNulty & Co., Inc.
Robert A. Weiss is the President of A.J. McNulty & Co., Inc., a third-generation family business specializing in the erection of structural steel and precast concrete subcontracting, and Cranes, Inc., a company which maintains a fleet of 50 cranes for rental in New York City. In these companies, Mr. Weiss oversees the daily operations, estimating and sales, and the selection and purchase of new equipment.
Prior to becoming President, Mr. Weiss was Vice President under his father Larry Weiss for 16 years.
Mr. Weiss began his career in the construction industry in the early 1990s at Westermann & Tryon as a construction law assistant, where he worked with a specialized legal team in the preparation of OSHA, payment and surety cases for construction clients before moving on to the family business.
In July, 2003 Mr. Weiss was appointed to the OSHA Cranes and Derricks Negotiated Rulemaking Advisory Committee, and was one of only 21 industry professionals chosen by the U.S. Department of Labor to draft new Federal safety standards for the use of cranes and derricks.
Mr. Weiss has served on the Board of Directors for the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association and the Board of Governors for the Building Trades Employers’ Association. He is currently the treasurer of the Allied Building Metal Industries as well as the President of the Board of Directors of the Subcontractors Trade Association.
The Michael Mazzucca Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019 will be presented to Mr. Robert Ansbro of Eagle One Roofing and The New York Roofing Company.
Robert J. Ansbro grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, graduated from Archbishop Stepinac High School, and enlisted in the army where he attained rank of Sergeant First Class. Mr. Ansbro worked for Otis Elevator in Yonkers, New York until he went to and graduated from college.
Mr. Ansbro started his career in construction with Yonkers Contracting as engineer and field surveyor, and was then recruited by Operating Engineers Local 15D’ as a party chief, where he worked with Knickerbocker Concrete Co., Gilbane Construction Co. at IBM Headquarters and Jandee Trucking Co. as project manager on a development in Mamaroneck, New York.
Mr. Ansbro then joined HRH Construction Corp. as a field engineer and superintendent for six years before joining The New York Roofing Company in 1968 as Estimator and Engineer. Mr. Ansbro became President of the New York Roofing Company in 1984, a business that has been in business since 1850.
Mr. Ansbro is extremely active in the New York City construction community, and has been a participating member, board member and president of several associations, including: Subcontractors Trade Association, SMACNA NYC, the Building Trades Employers’ Association, and the Roofing and Waterproofing Contractors Association. In addition, Mr. Ansbro is also the chairman of the Catholics in Construction group in the city that has a breakfast twice a year for approximately 300 members.
Mr. Ansbro has been married to his wife Regina for 56 years and together they have five children, 16 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
The STA is elated to be honoring this outstanding group of construction industry leaders.
Please click here for this year’s invitation. Contact Samantha Sweeney at 212-398-6220 or ssweeney@stanyc.com for more information or to reserve your sponsorships, advertisement space or tickets.