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STANLEY NASH, PRESIDENT of Elmont Glass Co., is reluctantly upping his prices for selling and installing glass in Manhattan. He says that the new hassles of moving people and materials into and around the borough, where his firm does most of its business, are forcing his hand.
"We are raising our bids by 10% to 20%, depending on where the work is in the city," says Mr. Nash, the general manager of the Carden City, L.I.-based business.
Across the city, construction prices that had been softening before Sept. 11 have suddenly firmed up. Industry executives blame everything from a surge in demand for their limited supplies of equipment and labor as displaced tenants struggle to find new homes, to the higher costs imposed by heightened security measures, and by soaring insurance rates.
Opportunists
"People in the construction industry are naturally opportunistic," says Larry Roman, president of WDF/Greene, an electrical and mechanical subcontractor. "When there is high demand, they raise prices."
Some property owners are already feeling the bite. Bids for the New York Hall of Science's $63 million expansion have come in $4.5 million over the estimates that had been made by a group of construction experts. Of 13 bids received by the Queens museum since Sept. 11, only four have come in lower than expected, reports Director Alan Friedman.
"If people are not sure about what their suppliers will charge them, or what labor will cost, then they probably tend to bid higher," Mr. Friedman says.
Mel Febesh has seen it happen. While Mr. Febesh, president of...