VHB opens a new Albany office that will be headed by Halstead

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. (VHB) has opened a new office. The office is part of Hauppauge-based VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C. which is affiliated with VHB. Heading up the office is Preston Halstead, who previously worked as VHB's director of transportation in Bedford, N.H. during the 1990s before relocating to NYS. He will be responsible for marketing his transportation engineering capabilities and VHB's expanse of integrated services throughout the capital region. "Albany is an important part of VHB's aggressive and optimistic approach to future opportunities," said Tom Lucivero, northeast regional manager, VHB. "Preston Halstead's strong background in transportation and his contacts at the state, county, and local level will help position VHB as the go-to source for integrated services in the region." Opening the office adds to VHB's N.Y. presence, which in January saw Eschbacher VHB join forces with Freudenthal & Elkowitz Consulting Group, a leading L.I. environmental firm. The merger of the two firms, renamed VHB Engineering, Surveying and Landscape Architecture, P.C., has positioned VHB as the leading multidisciplinary firm in the L.I. marketplace. In March, VHB opened a project office in Manhattan to support its growing business with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The New York City project office is staffed to provide the Port Authority with a high level of on-call services for assignments VHB is working on at Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Stewart International Airport.