E.W. Howell completes construction of new green Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Central Islip; Designed by Fusion Architecture

Long Island general contractor E.W. Howell recently completed construction of the new Child Advocacy Center (CAC). The CAC at The Pat and Mary Bagnato Place for Kids is an establishment dedicated to the care of child victims of physical and sexual abuse. The facility and program are managed and operated by the Hempstead-based Education & Assistance Corporation (EAC). When the CEO of EAC, Lance Elder, was looking for help in building a new Child Advocacy Center, he turned to local union leaders for advice. Based on a longstanding reputation for excellence and experience in the industry, the unions recommended that EAC reach out to E.W. Howell for construction of their new facility. With well over a hundred years of building on Long Island, and a long history of charitable participation, E.W. Howell seemed like the right fit for the task at hand. The new CAC, designed by Fusion Architecture, of Plainview, encompasses everything that could be needed, and everything that was lacking in the original CAC. The new CAC embraces many of the tenets of today's green building movement including Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) foundation walls, Sprayed Icynene Foam insulation in the walls and ceilings, point-of-use domestic water heaters in the bathrooms, high-efficiency heating and cooling, and a 10KW solar PV system. Vendors donated materials, supplies, and equipment. Most subcontractors worked for little or no profit, some made partial donations, and yet others donated their labor and materials outright. Local Union affiliates provided varying degrees of assistance to the project. The new center recently held its grand opening ceremony on October 21. At this event, representatives of the EAC were thrilled with the finished product and the work E.W. Howell and Fusion Architecture had completed.