CUNY Master Plan 2012-2016

THE CUNY MASTER PLAN 2012-2016
colleges and 50 percent for the community colleges, with the city providing the matching 50 percent for
the community colleges. The University cannot access the state funding for the community colleges
without the city match.
CUNY has generated new support for the University through private donations and several colleges
have successfully attracted donor contributions for capital projects. Examples include: Brooklyn College’s
receipt of approximately $18 million for its Performing Arts Center, $10 million of which came
from Leonard and Claire Tow (Class of 1950 and 1952, respectively); and $5 million from Max Kupferberg
(Class of 1941) for the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College. Both of these projects are in
currently in construction.
The enacted 2011-12 state budget provided $315 million in new appropriations for CUNY. The budget
included $284 million for critical maintenance projects at senior colleges, and the balance of $31 million
for critical maintenance projects at community colleges. These numbers are significantly less than the
amounts in CUNY’s request. As a result, the State Division of the Budget understands that CUNY will be
seeking additional annual appropriations to fund its capital program over the next five years. Included in
the request are: replacement of boilers at Brooklyn College; HVAC upgrades in Steinman Hall at CCNY;
Thomas Hunter Hall infrastructure upgrades at Hunter College; replacement of elevators in Namm and
Voorhees Halls at New York College of Technology; and continued funding for ongoing projects at the
community colleges such as the utilities upgrades at Bronx, upgrades in the 500 Grand Concourse building
at Hostos, and the façade replacement of Center Three at LaGuardia.
CUNY requested over $5.6 billion in funding from the state and city for its 2012-13 through 2016-17
five-year capital plan. The University’s capital request is divided into four categories: CUNY-wide programs,
CUNYfirst, the Enterprise Resource Planning initiative, and individual campus projects. The
CUNY-wide construction programs are requests for funding to address small-to-midsize major reconstruction
projects across all the campuses. The programs consist of the following categories: Health and
Safety, Facilities Preservation, ADA Compliance, Mechanical and Infrastructure Upgrades, Certificate of
Occupancy/Public Assembly, Science Lab Upgrades, Asbestos Remediation, Energy Conservation, and
Bathroom Upgrades. The projects within these programs were identified through building-condition
assessment surveys, and by college and central office staff. The identified need in each of the CUNY-wide
programs far exceeds the available funding; consequently, the campus facilities officers and project managers
from the University’s Department of Design, Construction and Management monitor the list of
projects and the actual conditions on campus to address the most critical needs as quickly as possible.
More specifically, when Local Law 11/98 work (involving building façade inspections and repair) is identified,
an example of which is $4.9 million worth of work on BMCC’s Chambers Street building, the University
is able to make corrections immediately.
The University requested funding to support a key initiative of the 2012-2013 capital program, that of
critical maintenance. This encompasses projects intended to bring CUNY campuses to a state of good
repair, including repair of interiors, building envelopes, roofs, mechanical systems, electrical systems,
chiller and boiler plants, and fire alarm systems. As noted earlier, this initiative was completed in con-
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