Holiday Giving in 2020
Over the past year, RAND has been working on new initiatives and looking for different ways to create a more meaningful and positive impact on our community and help those who are enduring hardship at this time. In lieu of…
Tag RAND Engineering & Architecture
Proposed Residential Fire Sprinkler Requirement Well-Intentioned, But Problematic
Testimony to the Committee on Housing & Buildings and the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management Regarding Int. No 1146-B (Proposed Residential Fire Sprinkler Requirement) December 2, 2020 My name is Peter Varsalona; I am a NYS licensed professional engineer,…
RAND Gives Back: #GivingTuesday 2020
Every year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, RAND honors #GivingTuesday, the global day of giving. Started by New York’s 92 Y in partnership with the United Nations Foundation in 2012, #GivingTuesday encourages everyone to take collective action to improve their communities, give…
NYC Buildings Must Display Energy Efficiency Grades Starting This Fall
Following the precedent set at New York City’s restaurants, building owners will now have letter grades posted outside their entrances. Owners of buildings that are subject to NYC’s Benchmarking Law (Local Laws 84/09 and 133/16) will be required to post…
RAND COVID-19 Update: Ongoing Projects and Safety
Continued Commitment to Safety and Our Clients Dear Clients and Friends, As a construction industry Architectural/Engineering firm involved in projects affecting building infrastructure and public safety, RAND is designated as an essential business per Governor Cuomo’s “New York State on…
COVID-19 and Continuity of Services at RAND
Like all of you, RAND is closely monitoring the latest news regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the health and well-being of our employees, clients, and community-at-large are of utmost importance to us, we are continually modifying our policies and procedures…
9th Cycle FISP – New Rule Issued for Facade Inspections
It’s official. Just in time for the start of the City’s 9th Cycle Facade Inspection Safety Program (FISP) on February 21, 2020, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) has published a new amended rule aimed at increasing safety…
#GivingTuesday Spotlight: Winter Wishes
For the last couple of years, RAND has had the privilege of working with the staff of P256Q at PS43, an elementary and middle school consisting of school children from Kindergarten through the 8th grade, in Far Rockaway, Queens, to…
RAND Structural Engineer and SEAoNY President Hosts Tianjin Delegation of Civil Engineers
On November 6th, I hosted a delegation of Chinese civil engineers at RAND’s office in Chelsea, Manhattan. The delegation, which included ten senior engineers from the Tianjin Municipal Engineering Design and Research Institute, a private engineering company in China, had…
How We Designed Our Award-Winning Cansculpture: Don’t Let Hunger DRAG ON
2019 marks my 6th consecutive year as Co-Captain of our RAND Canstruction Team, and this year, we created “Don’t Let Hunger Drag On,” a behemoth fire-breathing dragon breaking through a wall for our sculpture at the 27th annual Canstruction New…
Emergency Preparedness: Building a Better Backup Generator
Liberty House Condominium, a 239-unit, 27-story tower over looking the Hudson River escaped Hurricane Sandy relatively unscathed. The building didn’t lose power like the rest of downtown Manhattan (Battery Park City happens to be on the Brooklyn power grid), and…
My RAND Summer Internship: A Hands-On Experience
Going into a summer internship after completing only my sophomore year of college, it was hard to know what to expect from an internship at RAND. On my very first day, I was already out and about going on site…