(Mark your calendars: RealShare New York, Oct. 12, 2011 in New York City and RealShare New Jersey, Sept. 12, 2011 in New Brunswick, NJ)

NEW YORK CITY-Construction is showing “across the board weakness” says New York Building Congress president Richard Anderson, after the organization released a new report finding a 40% decline in new projects during the first half of 2011. This year, approximately $6.4 billion in new projects were started across the five boroughs, compared to the $10.6 billion of construction starts at the same time in 2010, based on an analysis of McGraw-Hill Construction Dodge data.

“It reflects the fact that there’s considerable weakness in new construction across the board,” Anderson tells GlobeSt.com. “What it shows is that there’s not a lot of new things getting started. We know the residential sector is weak, and office work is on the drawing board, but it has not been officiated yet.”