On Thursday, June 12, Open House New York and Dattner Architects hosted a talk with the Commissioner of the NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC), Thomas Foley. Gia Mainiero, Partner at Dattner Architects, presented on the recently completed 116th Precinct building in Rosedale, Queens, a design-build project for DDC. Following the presentations, Claudia Herasme, Partner at Partners in Public Design and former Chief Urban Designer at NYC’s Department of City Planning, moderated a lively conversation.

Commissioner Foley gave an overview of DDC’s role as the city’s capital construction project manager, building facilities for use by 41 city agencies and, ultimately, the public. DDC’s portfolio includes technically complex infrastructure improvements like the East Side Coastal Resiliency Project, initiatives requiring in-depth community consultation like the borough-based jail program, and mundane but important improvements to quality of life, like upgrading 65,000 air conditioners in NYCHA buildings during COVID. With this broad scope, Commissioner Foley’s management focus is on delivering projects better, faster, and more cost-effectively.

In 2024, the agency published a Strategic Blueprint Progress Update, assessing DDC’s progress in enacting the directives set out in its first Strategic Blueprint in 2019. A law passed that year enabled capital agencies like DDC to use design-build delivery for the first time. This change has been crucial to shortening construction timelines and improving project quality. Commissioner Foley explained how empowering DDC staff to make decisions and bringing all stakeholders to the table early in the process are key to achieving the agency’s strategic goals.

The 116th Precinct Station House demonstrates these principles in action. Part of DDC’s Design and Construction Excellence program, this project was designed by Dattner Architects and completed in December 2024. Mainiero, who led the project, discussed how the building was designed to promote transparency, accountability, and public access, including a site redesign that relocated vehicle parking, a public plaza with an accessible entryway to the LIRR, and a space inside the building designated for community use. Regular meetings between the design-build team and DDC staff enabled effective implementation of changes throughout the process and effective delivery of the project.

DDC is using design-build for other projects around the city set to be completed soon. The video below discusses implementation of design-build to construct the Shirley Chisholm Recreation Center, a new facility in East Flatbush for NYC Parks, led by an all-woman team from DDC.