Mineola NY
LIRR Parking Garage
Patel Engineering has designed and coordinated all trades of MEP was for the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) 3rd Track project, in which 2 parking garages, one in Westbury and one in Mineola are now completed.
With this being a government project, LIRR had technical provisions that had to be met, including an emergency generator, sophisticated lighting controls, illumination levels, lighting uniformity ratios, and a strict max 3% voltage drop of a circuit. Electrical load schedules were created that included all equipment that needed emergency power and used these schedules to size the generator needed.
The garage in Mineola was designed with a basement for cars to park, thus exhaust fans were programmed to turn on when the CO/CO2 sensors reached a limit, and the offices were positively pressurized to ensure fumes would not seep in.
Staten Island NY
Empire Outlets
Empire Outlets is the first outlet mall in New York City, a 350,000 sq.ft retail complex with over 70 stores. Construction started in 2015 and is in progress for completion.
For this project, the food court was designed, a 15,000 sq.ft. space that included 20 tenant spaces, with 10 requiring kitchen hoods. In addition to Rooftop Units (RTU’s) for cooling and ventilation, designing the exhaust system for multiple kitchen grilles was an important task in which the NYC building code needed to be closely followed. Exhaust, make-up air, and grease trap equipment, was carefully selected after all criteria and calculations were met.
Based on the number of sinks, the estimated maximum drain flow was calculated, and multiple large grease interceptors were selected accordingly.
Bronx NY
Yeshiva University
At this school, two buildings were renovated. For the Einstein building, the 20,000 sq.ft. 5th floor was renovated from vacant space to classrooms, labs, offices, and study lounges. 38 Fan Coil Units (FCU’s) were specified, with chilled water providing the cooling.
New electrical panels, lighting, and power outlets were circuited. There were no sprinklers on that floor, therefore, a new system was designed, and we performed the hydraulic calculations to verify adequate water supply.
Additionally, the Louis and Dora Rousso building’s 3rd and 4th floor was renovated. The goal of this project for HVAC was to provide mechanical ventilation for the interior spaces, and natural ventilation for the perimeter spaces. The operable window area was measured, and for most spaces met the code for minimum area required. For the spaces that did not meet the code, existing windows were changed out for fully operable windows.
Brooklyn NY
Sofive Soccer Center
This 55,000 sq.ft. indoor sports facility was converted from a distribution center. With no heating or cooling in the warehouse, large gas-fired unit heaters were added to the play area.
To meet the ventilation requirements for a sports facility, additional intake and exhaust louvers and fans were put in place. For the viewing/dining area, split system units were specified. Small electric heaters were added for bathrooms, kitchens, office spaces, and water meter rooms.
New backflow preventers for the incoming water lines were added for domestic water and sprinkler water. For the sprinkler line, a new backflow preventer was added because the existing was corroded and at the end of its use. For the domestic water, there was no RPZ (Reduced Pressure Zone) backflow preventer, which may cause water quality issues if the water flows back into the sprinkler supply water.
New York NY
Tuscany Hotel
Due to a sprinkler pipe burst on the 2nd floor of this hotel, the entire 1st floor and basement flooded. This project involved identifying the scope of demolition, and designing new systems for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and fire protection.
All the damaged Air Handling Units (AHU’s), split system, and water-source heat pumps were identified. New heat recovery heat pumps with electric duct heaters were specified for the lobby, bar, restaurant, gym, and basement.
The reason for the sprinkler burst was the cold temperature freezing the water in the pipe, as there was no heat in the space. Previously, the outdoor wall was demolished to convert the balcony into an indoor space with the façade, and roof, becoming all windows.
To prevent this issue from reoccurring, the sprinkler pipe between the beam and the duct was removed.