The Army Corps of Engineers is facing pushback from House Republicans and Democrats, as well as its union, over plans to relocate hundreds of employees in the New York metro area to new office space.
The agency announced in February that it would move out of federally owned office space in New York City and relocate to commercially leased offices in New Jersey.
The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local 98 said in a press release Thursday that the agency began the search for new offices in New Jersey without consulting with the union, violating a clause in its collective bargaining agreement. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth terminated Defense Department labor contracts in April.
According to the union, a lease for new office space is expected to be signed as soon as May 18. The union estimates that 500 employees are impacted by the relocation.
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IFPTE Local 98 said moving regional employees out of New York City “will have lasting repercussions on staffing and project implementation.”
According to a union survey, 43% of New York District and North Atlantic Division employees living in New York City and Long Island would leave the Army Corps of Engineers if their commute were longer. A related survey conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers found that a significant portion of the workforce’s commutes could be significantly increased by this move.
“Even without barriers to hiring in the federal sector, this move, if allowed to go forward, would make future recruiting efforts east of the Hudson River significantly more difficult,” the union said.
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle directed the agency in a Feb. 23 memo to relocate its Manhattan office to “more cost-effective options” within the local commuting area.
Telle said the relocation decision is in line with the Trump administration’s push to eliminate unused and wasteful federal office space. The agency pays GSA about $8.7 million a year on rent on its current office space, and those rent costs in the area are “among the highest by almost any metric.”
“It is clear to me that any benefits of having the New York District located at 26 Federal Plaza are outweighed by the high costs. I believe having an office located in one of the highest rent cost areas in the world gives the unacceptable impression that the Corps is not concerned with cost discipline.”
Telle’s memo directs New York District leadership functions to relocate no later than Aug. 15 and that the rest of the district office activities must relocate by Dec. 31. The memo also directs the agency’s North Atlantic Division office, currently at Fort Hamilton, to be consolidated into this new leased space.
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House Republicans representing New York State pushed back on the agency’s relocation plans. In an April 17 letter, Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.), Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.), Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y), Michael Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) warned that this relocation “could result in severe attrition in personnel.”
“The loss of subject matter experts, institutional knowledge, and the deep interpersonal relationships we have seen develop between the Corps and local communities is a nonstarter,” they wrote.
While GOP lawmakers applauded GSA and the Army Corps of Engineers for their efforts to cut federal real estate costs, they wrote that they “do not see the wisdom in redirecting rent payments to a private lessor,” rather than remain in GSA-owned office space.
“Not one of us will contend that rent in Manhattan is not expensive. However, the calculus that has been made by the public and private sector alike is that the ease of connection to state, municipal, and other federal agencies, and likewise, the ease of access for the workforce domiciled in the surrounding locales provided by this prime location is indispensable to the daily mission of the Corps,” the lawmakers wrote.
The Army Corps of Engineers employees in the New York metro area oversee dredging, locks and dams operations for the busiest port on the East Coast and ensure waterways are safe and accessible for shipping.
The agency’s portfolio of work also includes flood protection projects and emergency response. Army Corps of Engineers personnel helped ferry people to safety after the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and assisted in handling the debris.
Congressional Democrats also oppose the plan. In a bipartisan letter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Reps. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and Malliotakis wrote that relocating regional staff out of New York “will have lasting repercussions on staffing and project implementation,” and that the relocation efforts will end up costing more money in the long run.
“To undertake this relocation without adequate consideration of how the move will affect the agencies’ workforce is shortsighted and will inevitably degrade the Corps ability to continue its critical activities in the region,” they wrote.
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