(Mark Your Calendars: RealShareDistressed Assets takes place Oct. 4-5 inGrapevine, TX. RealShareNew York takes place Oct. 12 at the MarriottMarquis.)

NEW YORK CITY-The US District Court for the SouthernDistrict of New York found that project labor agreementsbetween New York City and the Building and ConstructionTrades Council (BCTC), an umbrella organization ofapproximately 50 construction industry trade unions, do not violatethe National Labor Relations Act 29 U.S.C. 151-169, according to anopinion and order from District Judge Robert P. Patterson,Jr. filed on Aug. 4. The project labor agreements,approved in November 2009 by Mayor Michael R.Bloomberg and BCTC president Gary LaBarbera, affects $6 billion in infrastructure projects,including the construction of a new police academy and larger911-call center, according to a prepared statement from theNYC Law Department.

After being voted into law, project labor agreements--orPLAs--involve 32,000 construction jobs, and are expected to save$300 million that would be used to pay for projects that would haveotherwise been cut due to the economic downturn, the city says.“This important ruling will allow critical public works-such as thenew policy academy-to proceed without interruption, and ensure thatfuture construction projects will be completed in a cost-effectiveand efficient manner,” says Jonathan S. Becker,deputy chief of the commercial and real estate litigation division,who served as the city’s counsel on this case, in a statement.