As summer approaches I find myself reflecting on the first half of my first year as chair of BOMA New York. We have made discernible strides in increasing our voice, offering career life cycle support to our membership, and supporting the industry that has been good to us as employees, employers and contributors to the city and state of New York from an economic and social standpoint.
BOMA New York is proud to support New York Blood Center through the newly relaunched Skyscrapers for Life program. BOMA New York members support many charitable organizations, as a way to give back to the communities we work and live in. We take our responsibilities to our fellow New Yorkers seriously. This initiative is very important to me personally and as chair of BOMA New York, as it speaks directly to our core mission of providing safe and effective places for people to work and support themselves and their families. I cannot think of a better use of our assets, than to support the health of our fellow New Yorkers by providing the necessary space for critical blood donations, as well as using our collective voice to bring in as many donations as we can. We look forward to honoring the buildings and organizations who contribute the most at our December holiday luncheon, through a friendly competition.
Following an intensive planning process with our emerging leaders we have revamped and reintroduced our mentorship program. I was impressed with the energy and drive our emerging leaders have shown at charting the course for their own career path and putting in the work to identify the support they need to succeed in the industry. We distributed our first call for mentors and mentees in May and will soon identify our first cohort under our new programmatic guidelines. The program promises an exceptional growth experience for mentors and mentees and we look forward to expanding its reach over the next year.
We continue to support members with the educational offerings and professional certifications they need to bring best practices and the newest technologies to their properties. If there is a colleague in commercial real estate management whom you work with and admire, chances are that they have their RPA or FMA designations and that those designations have given them a leg up in their careers, while ensuring they have the knowledge base to deliver to their tenants. We are exceedingly proud of our standing as an educational institution.
June is the month of one of our two annual golf outings. These outings are not only an enjoyable way to build teams and relationships among colleagues but also fund our educational scholarship programs on an annual basis. We are proud to support our emerging leaders and mid-career professionals with the opportunity to achieve these important certificates at no cost and to recognize their talent and initiative, awarding between twelve and twenty full scholarships on an annual basis.
Our committees represent our brain trust and bring the issues and ideas to the table that represent much of our educational and advocacy agendas for the coming year. This month we will welcome the New York City Department of Buildings to a joint meeting of our Codes and Regulations and Energy and Sustainability Committees for an update on the Local Law 97 submission process that building owners and managers will use to comply with 2025 mandates. We will present a deep dive into Local Law 126, as well in June, for a timely look at new regulations and concerns around parking structures and parapet observations.
We continually look to our peers, the best in the business, to lead by example through our ongoing and well-attended educational building tours for our emerging leaders and the general membership through our Professional Development Committee. Our recent emerging leaders tour featured 825 Third Ave., a Durst Organization property, and focused on a recent $150 million capital renovation. We viewed the new state-of-the art MEP systems, visited a prebuilt floor displaying the newest window technology and toured the tenant amenity spaces.
Our committees will enjoy a well-deserved summer break, while our educational and advocacy efforts remain in full swing all year round. As we work all summer on ensuring an amazing Pinnacles Gala experience in September, celebrating the best people and buildings in CRE, I wish you all a productive and peaceful summer.
Patrick Dolan, RPA, is chairman of BOMA New York.
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