Smart Buildings Tech Challenge

As the Brooklyn Army Terminal (BAT) celebrates its 100th birthday, NYCEDC is turning to the city's rich ecosystem of smart building innovators to enhance the infrastructure and operations of this New York City landmark. The Smart Buildings Tech Challenge invites applicants to submit proposals to address three key smart building areas. Selected finalists will be invited to a pitch event this summer, and winning proposals will be contracted by NYCEDC to pilot the project at BAT.

The three Smart Buildings Tech Challenge areas are outlined below. Applicants with a market-ready solution to one or more of the challenge areas are welcome to apply.

Smart Building Challenge Areas

Metering: Technologies that increase accuracy and efficiency in electric or water metering, such as:

• Solutions that generate data on electrical or water usage, allowing staff to create operational efficiencies that result in lower costs or lower environmental impacts 
• Solutions that increase accuracy and ease of reading tenant electrical or water sub-meters and tenant invoicing

Maintenance: Technologies that improve maintenance of on-site infrastructure, including elevators and water pumps, such as:

• Solutions that generate data on elevator use, allowing staff to improve elevator performance and create operational efficiencies that result in lower costs or lower environmental impacts 
• Solutions capable of remote monitoring and control of elevator locations
• Solutions that use technology to inform preventative maintenance, such as remote inspection of pressure, temperature, and other conditions of water pumps
• Solutions that support proactive operations and maintenance of building infrastructure and systems, allowing for greater insight into equipment status and performance

Communication: Technologies that facilitate communication between BAT staff, tenants, and the surrounding community or applications that facilitate communication for other smart building solutions, such as:

• Solutions that visually share key data, such as building events and opportunities, weather and transit information, news feeds, wayfinding kiosks, or emergency notifications (e.g., interactive building directory; digital signage in elevators and tenant common spaces)
• Solutions that increase communication and collaboration between BAT staff, building tenants, and/or the surrounding Sunset Park community (e.g., BAT app for staff and tenants; maintenance request portal; digital signage to connect tenants to the nearby events/businesses)
• Solutions that enable connectivity within an industrial setting for communication with IoT devices (e.g., solutions to improve connectivity such as boosters, repeaters, or extenders)

The applications that, in NYCEDC’s judgement, best satisfy all of the below criteria will move forward to the pitch event. The pitch process may include presenting the submitted proposal to the BAT team, submitting additional information, and participating in an interview.

• Project Feasibility (30%): Market-ready technology, ease of technology implementation, and simplicity of technology maintenance
• Project Impact (30%): Alignment with the challenge areas, reduced or avoided costs, lowered environmental impacts, increased connectivity, job growth potential
• Project Cost (20%): Reasonable costs given size and scope of the project
• Quality of Proposal (15%): Project team’s qualification and preparedness
• Project Team Relationship to NYC (5%): Preference for project teams with a local presence such as NYC-based offices or staff

Timeline & Key Milestones

Optional Site Tour

There will be an optional site tour at 2 pm on June 11, 2018 at BAT. To register, RSVP to [email protected] no later than 5 pm on June 6. Interested parties should meet NYCEDC representatives at the 58th Street entrance of BAT at the time of the site visit.

Questions and Answers

Applicants may submit questions and/or request clarification from NYCEDC no later than 5 pm on June 15. Please send questions to [email protected]. All questions will be answered and posted to this page on June 29, 2018.

Applications Due

All applications must be submitted to NYCEDC by 4 pm on July 12.

Selected Finalists Notified

Selected applicants will be notified of their acceptance to the pitch event, and of the pitch event date, by August 15, 2018.