Though most construction in New York City has been halted, architects hired for city projects were stunned to get orders last week to stop all ongoing design work.
The largest number of architects are engaged by the city’s Department of Design and Construction (DDC), which has a $13 billion portfolio serving 20 city agencies. Besides such work as street repair and water-system renewal, the agency manages what is probably the nation’s largest municipal portfolio of public building design and construction — from park projects and libraries to homeless shelters, courthouses, and juvenile justice facilities. (Disclosure: The author of this article worked for DDC from 2015-2018.) The city also builds thousands of units of affordable housing annually through its Department of Housing Preservation and Development and builds and repairs public schools through the School Construction Authority. (The work of the Health + Hospitals Corporation is likely to be exempt due to the COVID-19 emergency.)