Mayor Bloomberg Joins Building Community in Saluting Industry Giants

---

NEW YORK – More than 1,000 representatives of the building community
gathered to honor three industry leaders — Jack Rudin, Edward J.
Malloy and Robert S. Peckar, during the New York Building Congress
2002 Industry Recognition Dinner at the Grand Hyatt New York on
October 24.

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg served as the keynote speaker and Tishman
Construction Corp. President and CEO Daniel R. Tishman was Dinner
Chairman. The annual gala event recognizes the brilliant careers
and dedicated civic leadership of New York City’s foremost members
of the design, construction and real estate industry.

"New York City is defined by the daring and grace of its public
and private developments," Mayor Bloomberg noted, before applauding
the industry for its heroic efforts at Ground Zero over the past
year. "The people of this nation have gained a new appreciation
for what you mean to this City. No other City in the world could
have rebounded so quickly from the appalling devastation (of 9/11)."

AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney and Edward Cardinal Egan, Archbishop
of New York, then joined Mayor Bloomberg in presenting an Industry
Recognition Award to Rudin Management Company Chairman Jack Rudin.
Of Rudin, the Mayor noted, "No one does a better job of bringing
people together – from labor to management, people with different
beliefs – for the good of New York."

In accepting the award, Rudin expressed pride in sharing this year’s
honors with Ed Malloy and said, "It is a wonderful industry.
We learn by doing. My father had a theory that labor is our partner,
and so it’s a pleasure to accomplish as a team what we are doing."
He added, "We want to help the Mayor rebuild this City and
keep on building it."

During his presentation of an Industry Recognition Award to Edward
J. Malloy, President of the Building & Construction Trades Council
of Greater New York, Tishman said, "Everyone in this industry
knows Ed Malloy. He not only participates in many organizations,
he usually leads them. He commands widespread respect and always
is a considerate and thoughtful voice for the best interests of
the New York City building industry. Ed’s effectiveness has grown
each year to the point where he may be the most influential industry
leader in New York City."

Malloy used his acceptance to praise Cardinal Egan for his leadership
of the Roman Catholic Church and the City during a difficult period,
and Jack Rudin for his devotion to New York’s skilled trades people.
"Labor has no greater friend than Jack Rudin. I deem it an honor
to stand in his shadow. On behalf of all labor, he has earned our
enduring respect and our enduring love."

Syska Hennessy Group Chairman and CEO John F. Hennessy III and
Turner Construction Senior Vice President Peter J. Davoren presented
a Special Recognition Award to Robert S. Peckar, Senior Partner
of Peckar & Abramson, P.C. Davoren noted, "As General Counsel
of the Building Congress for many years, Bob has demonstrated his
leadership time and again. In meeting after meeting, I can recall
Bob being the one that cut directly to the heart of the matter and
built consensus." Added Hennessy, "The Building Congress
is what it is today in large part due to Bob’s efforts."

"I know my father is particularly proud this evening,"
said Peckar, whose family has been a part of the industry for decades.
"As a kid, he would take me around to his construction sites
in New York City." It was during these visits, Peckar added,
that he developed a fondness for the men and women involved in all
aspects of building and a desire to act as a consensus builder.

The Building Congress also received a surprise visit from U.S.
Senator Charles E. Schumer, who told the assembled crowd, "I
wanted to stop by and sing the praises of three great men. Each
is a builder not just of buildings but of coalitions, of friendships,
of loyalty and of our New York."

Building Congress Chairman Marilyn Jordan Taylor summarized the
mood of the evening best, "We represent more than heroic rescue
efforts and debris clearance. In very different ways, all of us
can and should accept some measure of recognition. Nonetheless,
we must limit our accolades to the select few. And this year’s cast
is exceptional."

STV Group Chairman and CEO Dominick M. Servedio served as Executive
Co-Chairman of the dinner. Rabbi Peter J. Rubenstein of the Central
Synagogue, which was rebuilt by the industry’s finest architects,
engineers and contractors after a disastrous fire several years
ago, delivered the invocation.

 

The New York Building Congress is a membership coalition of business, labor, association and government organizations promoting the design, construction and real estate industry in New York City.