Construction industry could come back quickly but faces longterm challenges
Published on May 14, 2020 by
By: Henry Rosoff
Posted at 6:35 PM, May 14, 2020 and last updated 6:50 PM, May 14, 2020
NEW YORK — Resuming construction is in the early stages of the reopening plans of most states; however, the pandemic will leave a lasting mark on the industry and related jobs.
Chaz Rynkiewicz with Local 79 Laborers said 18 of his 10,000 members have died and about 80% of his jobs sites have been deemed non-essential. He believes many of those sites can safely reopen soon with proper precautions.
“We have a voice as union members,” He said. “They’re not going to be bullied into any sort of unsafe activity. We’re social distancing and wearing proper PPE.”
The times have also led to unexpected work.
“We’ve also had some big emergency jobs and there was no infections on those jobs, so that’s worth noting.”
However, the real question might be not one of safety, but demand. The pandemic’s grinding of the economy to a near halt, and new work from home habits may reduce the need for traditional office space.
“We’re not expecting a big demand in commercial real estate,” said Joseph Foudy, an NYU Economist. “We don’t expect retail to be growing so it’s easy to put projects like this off.”
According to New York State, Construction accounted for about $84 billion in economic activity in New York City in 2018. The same report found that represents about representing 10% of the city’s total economic output.
Carlo Scissura with the New York Building Congress said there many be a very short term slowdown, but warns people against counting out New York.
“Every time you say: ‘New York is finished, and the office market is dead, no one’s going to want to congregate,’ people always come back to it,” Scissura said. “It sounds nice to work in your house, but it’s not. You need to be be with people you need to be out and about.”
All economists and construction industry professionals PIX 11 spoke with suggested shovel ready stimulus similar to 2008-2009 would be very helpful right now.
“After safety, which is a given, it’s our number one priority,” Scissura said.
So far Congress has been hesitant to do direct construction stimulus during four pandemic relief bills passed. Instead the focus has been more on direct money for workers and healthcare.
https://www.pix11.com/news/coronavirus/construction-industry-could-come-back-quickly-but-faces-longterm-challenges
