2018 Women in Real Estate and Construction Services: Anita Konfederak, Merritt Engineering

Name: Anita Konfederak

Title: Vice President

Company Name: Merritt Engineering

Years in your current field: 30

What professional organizations or associations are you a member of? Building Congress, CREW NY, SMPS, Manhattan Resident Managers Club, ICC, REBNY, Queens Chamber of Commerce, IREM

What was your greatest professional accomplishment in 2017? 

I am being hired more and more often for peer reviews of other firms’ engineering reports and construction problems, and as an owner’s representative on large projects for project management and construction oversite. It is challenging work that requires all of the knowledge I have gained over the past 30 years. Time is usually of the essence and budget management is a top priority for all owners.  I enjoy this type of work because I know that I can make a big difference in how well a project is structured, monitored and completed. 

What was your most notable project 2017?

My team completed the restoration of all eight buildings at the Lenox Hill/MEETH hospitals for Northwell Health last year.  They have been a client of ours for over 20 years and we value their business. 

If you have had a mentor in your career, who was it and what did they teach you? 

I have not had a mentor, but I have learned a lot from product reps. about materials, from contractors about scaffold rigging, from my clients and their attorneys and accountants about building management, contracts and finances, and from various city agency employees about codes and regulations. 

What trends are you seeing so far this year in your field? 

We are in the building restoration industry.  Weather we are engineering a high rise façade repair at a residential building, concrete repairs in a commercial parking garage, a roof replacement at a school or a sidewalk vault waterproofing on a busy street, safety has become of utmost importance in NYC, if not exactly a trend.  We are focusing on Tenant Protection and Site Safety Plans for construction, on the structural stability of rooftop, balcony and fire escape railings, as well as the safety regulations regarding lead paint, PCB’s, asbestos and volatile organic compounds found in old and new restoration products. 

When I am not working I am…

Rowing (a new sport I just took up), traveling, or researching colleges for my daughter.