The Path to Your Economic Recovery
Meet Kenneth Browne
Owner: PublicAdjusters.com
Short Bio About Kenneth Browne
Profile Summary
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Forty years
experience in Construction Cost Analysis, Cost
Engineering, Value Engineering, Scheduling and
Cost Control. Includes Change Order Preparation,
Validating, Cost Administration and Construction
Claims Analysis and Validations, Insurance Fraud
Investigations, Large Loss Commercial Property
Damage Analysis, Contents and Equipment Loss
Analysis, Cost Analysis and Claim Mediations,
Appraisal & Umpire Services, Claim Resolution
Services, Extensive Natural Disaster Damage
Surveys, Construction Quality Management,
Construction Cost Audits. A leading provider of
cost estimating and value engineering solutions
for major Engineering and Construction
Management Firms. Performed contract
negotiations and management on high-profile
Federal Government projects. Established
values and provided guidelines on resolving
liability claims. Extensive legal support on
evaluating and establishing values on complex
liability claim settlements. |
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Project Experience
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1992 – Current:
Cost Engineering Technologies |
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Forensic Cost & Value Engineering Services
Insurance & Construction Claims Analysis
Handled Projects to $2 Billion
Current – Kenneth Browne, Public Adjuster, Appraiser, Umpire Owner: PublicAdjusters.com Forensic Cost & Value Engineer Certified Appraiser with
Advanced Umpire Designations Commercial Large Loss
Damage Analyst 2004- 2012 The Public Adjusters
SeniorVice President, COO
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Licensed in: FL, LA, TX
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Hurricane Damage Assessment – Hurricane
Katrina\Wilma\Ike (Approx $500 Million)
Fires, Floods, Explosions
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Website:
http://www.publicadjusters.com Highlights:
· Disputed $9
Million Dollar Claim resulting in a $16 Million
Settlement
· Disputed
$300,000 claim resulting in a $2,000,000
Settlement 2005/2015
AFG Construction Managers - IGE
New York, NY
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United Nations Secretariat Building, New
York, NY
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(initial $200,000,000)
Instrumental in resolving a dispute between the
United States & Great Britain on Values for the
Restoration Project which included determining
cost impacts of five Design Alternatives.
Prepared Final Congressional Budget Estimate · New York City Housing Authority, New York, NY ($30,000,000)
– Worked
closely with Tetra Tech Inc/AFG in providing
cost estimating/management & technical services.
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Locker Room Upgrades, Rikers Island
Correctional NYC, NY ($20,000,000)
2012- 2013 Hurricane Sandy - New York, New Jersey • Assessments,
Adjustments and Appraisals of Storm Damaged
Properties • Varied Commercial &
Residential Claims (Approximately $7 Million +) • Appraiser on
all claims that went to Appraisal (Approx 60%)
2010- 2013 Hurricane Sandy - New York, New Jersey • Assessments,
Adjustments and Appraisals of Storm Damaged
Properties
2008- 2012 Deepwater Horizon Explosion • Established Business Economic Loss Claims for Business Owners
2005-2007 Hurricane Katrina
- Insurance Claim Consultants • Assessments,
Adjustments and Appraisals of Storm Damaged
Properties • Varied Commercial &
Residential Claims (Approximately $12 Million +) • Appraiser on
all claims that went to Appraisal (Approx 60%)
2004-2005
span>Hurricane Charley
- Insurance Claim Consultants • Assessments,
Adjustments and Appraisals of Storm Damaged
Properties • Varied Commercial &
Residential Claims (Approximately $12 Million +) • Appraiser on
all claims that went to Appraisal (Approx 60%) 1991999-2005
LiRo Construction Managers - IGE
Syosett, NY • 448-Cell CPSU at
GRVC, Rikers Island, NY ($132,000,000)
(Super-Max Prison Facility) • NY Fire Department – EMS ($4-9 Million)p> • School of
Architecture – SUNY – (Est. $80 Million) • Columbia
University – ($23 Million) • Westchester
Emergency 911 Operations & Training Center Mid-1990’s
Day & Zimmermann, Inc/GSA – IGE Florham Park, NJ • U.S.
Courthouse - Foley Square, NY - Historic
Restoration ($80 Million) Congressional Budget
Estimate • U.S. Courthouse - Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn, NY - Restorationp> • U.S.
Courthouse & MLK Federal Building - Newark, NJ -
($54 Million) •&n• U.S. Court of
International Trade - NYC - Restoration • GSA Regional
Headquarters Building - 26 Federal Plaza, NYC –
Restoration ($45. Million) • U.S. Customs Office - NYC - Restorationp> •&n• U.S. Federal
Building - Queens, NY - New Federal Building • DEA Regional
Headquarters - 99 Tenth Ave, NYC - New Regional
Headquarters ($17.5 Million) Early 1990’s
O’Brien Kreitzberg
Cherry Hill, NJ • NW
Philadelphia Prison Expansion Project,
Philadelphia, PA • Allegheny
General Hospital - Life Flight Emergency Trauma
Center, Pittsburgh, PA – Expansion • The Piers at
Penns Landing - Hotel, Condominium, Marina &
Conference Center, Philadelphia, PA • Penn Club - NYC - New Alumni Clubp> • Easton Water
Treatment Facility - Easton, CT - New Facility Early-1990’s
PANYNJ
New York, NY • Newark
International Airport - International Arrivals
Terminal - PANYNJ – New Terminal B • Port Authority Bus Terminal – Alterationp> 1973 - Mid 1980’s
Wood & Tower, Inc (CM)
Princeton, NJ • Assisting in
developing RCV Appraisal System for GAB Business
Services • Performed
Replacement Cost Appraisals on information
provided by GAB personnel • George
Eastman Estate - Rochester, NY - Historic
Replacement Cost Appraisal • Trinity Church - Broadway, NYC - Historic Replacement Cost Appraisalp> •&n• Church of the
Ascension (Cathedral) - Replacement Cost
Appraisal • Sonny & Cher
Bono Estate - Beverly Hills, CA - Replacement
Cost Appraisal • Renaissance Center, Detroit Michiganp> • University Of
Medicine & Dentistry • Johnson &
Johnson Pharmaceutical Co • Champion
Paper Co • Ford Motor
Company, Detroit. Mich • Princeton
University 1972-1973
Robert Strongwater & Company
Queens, NY • General
Damage Estimating, Negotiations & Mediations on
damaged buildings 1969-72
GAB Business Service
New York, Brooklyn & Staten Island • Property Adjuster – First Party Claims, Replace Cost Appraisals, p> • Agreed Price
Damage estimates 1986- 2002
Misc. Assignments
Various • WMCA of Sussex County, NJp> •&n• Truck
Interstate Highway Weigh Stations - Routes 80
and 287 - DOT, NJ • Estate of the
late New York City Mayor, Jimmy Walker - Old
Westbury, NY – Fire • Nickel's Midway Amusement Pier – Fire – Wildwood, NJp> • Sportland
West Boardwalk commercial strip center – Fire –
Wildwood, NJ •&n• Fun Pier
Amusement Center - Fire – Wildwood, NJ • •Surfside
Villas, Panama City Beach, FL - Flood Damage
Mediation (FEMA) • Spinnaker Beach & Cabana, PCB, FL - Hurricane Opal Damage Mediationp> EXPERT WITNESS • Riordan vs.
Nationwide (Fire Claim) • Spinnaker vs.
Reliance National (Hurricane Claim) • Loft
International vs. Turner Construction
(Construction Claim) • Fast Forward,
Inc. vs. Fidelity Bonding (Construction Claim) • Goldberg vs.
Atlantic Mutual (Hurricane Claim) • Elmridge
Management Inc., vs. Briarwood Contracting
(Construction Claim) • 759 Owners Corp.
vs. Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. (Hurricane
Claim) • J.C.K.
Construction Corp. vs. Port Authority of NY & NJ
(Construction Claim) • Savransky vs.
State Farm Insurance Co. (Fire Damage Claim) • Arrow
Graphics, Inc. vs. The City of New York (34-year
old sewer claim) • Viggiano vs.
Allstate Insurance Co (Hurricane Claim) • York vs. East
End Construction Corp (Construction Claim) • Monasabien
vs. Allstate Insurance Co. (Fire at the former
Estate of Mayor Jimmie Walker) • Cutaneo vs. Hanover
Insurance Company, et al (63-room Estate Fire) • American Real
Estate vs Entergy (Self-insured Flood
Claim) |
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Education
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1973–1989
Various • Institute of Design and
Construction - NYC - Construction Technologies -
1973
• New York
University - Construction & Project Scheduling
Certificate - 1989 • Morris
College - General Business Administration
Courses - 1980 • College of
Insurance NYC – General Insurance Courses |
1986 |
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Authorship
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1996-2006
Published Papers and Speeches
Various |
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• THE COST ENGINEER Computerized
Estimating System
• Computer
Assisted Estimating - Questions to Consider • The Effects
of Overtime - Programs on Production Rates • Evaluating
and Pricing Change Orders Course Instructor • Institute for
Professional Advancement • Has taught a
three-day intensive course in Construction
Estimating
utilizing advanced computer modeling
technologies to construction engineers,
estimators, facility managers from around the
world.
63-Room, 30,000 SF Mansion
Burns to the Ground |
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The owners bought
this 60-year old house in Mendham, NJ for
$900,000 only 3-1/2 months before the fire, and
it was in poor condition. The owner's original
public adjuster wasn't qualified to assess the
damage. The public adjusting firm's construction
expert figured $5.9 Million to rebuild the
mansion. Even the insurance company's
construction expert estimated it would cost only
$1.8 Million to rebuild. Because of the house's
unique architecture and complexity, and because
they didn't have the requisite experience and
knowledge of this type of (period) construction,
they both guessed at replacing the mansion by
using the square foot method of estimating the
cost. Needless to say, the insured was not
satisfied.
Kenneth Browne of
Cost Engineering Technologies, one of New York’s
top consultants for estimating construction
costs for high-profile, complex, ornate
government buildings, was retained by a
New York law firm to prepare a detailed
replacement cost construction estimate of the
damages to this mansion. Using his extensive
knowledge in the principles and practices of
construction for the period and his network of
specialty suppliers, he was able to prepare a
detailed estimate that included all the
architectural ornate detailed woodwork,
millwork, baroque plaster finishes, marble,
stone, trim, and more, which included some 21
fireplaces, 10 chimneys, and all the items
included in the 63-room house on a room by room
basis. He came up with an estimate, encompassing
some 7,000 unique line items to rebuild the
house exactly the way it was before the fire
with exact materials of like, kind, and quality
without anything but line drawings, a half a
dozen photos of the interior and interviewing
the insured. The estimate—$17.5 million.
Settlement: $9.0 Million - Actual Cash Value! |
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The
Historic U.S. Courthouse
at Foley
Square
Architect Cass Gilbert was commissioned to design a
new federal courthouse at Foley Square in 1931. Design
work began in 1933. Construction began in July 1932 and
lasted three and a half years. It was among the first
federal skyscrapers constructed. After Gilbert's death,
construction was supervised by his son Cass Gilbert Jr.
until its completion in 1936. The courthouse was
originally known as the Foley Square Courthouse.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic
Places (as U.S. Courthouse) on September 2, 1987.
In 1998, Kenneth Browne of Cost Engineering
Technologies provided the budget estimate for
congressional approval for the substantial renovations
that took place later that year into 1999.
In 2001, the United States Congress passed a bill
renaming the building in honor of Thurgood Marshall who
had worked at the courthouse from 1961 to 1965 as a
judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals before
later being elevated to the Supreme Court of the United
States. The legislation was signed into law on August
20, 2001, and the building was rededicated on April 15,
2003.
The
Headquarters of the United Nations
The headquarters of the United Nations
is a distinctive complex in New York City, United
States, that has served as the official headquarters of
the United Nations since its completion in 1952. It is
located in the Turtle Bay neighborhood of Manhattan, on
spacious grounds overlooking the East River. Its borders
are First Avenue on the west, East 42nd Street to the
south, East 48th Street on the north and the East River
to the east. Turtle bay is used as a synonym for the
U.N. headquarters or for the U.N. as a whole.
Though it is in New York City, and part of the
United States, the land used by the United Nations
Headquarters is considered international territory,
while also being subject to most local, state, and
federal laws. For award purposes Amateur radio operators
consider it a separate "entity", and for communications
the UN has its own internationally recognized ITU
prefix, 4U.
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The FDR Drive passes
underneath the Conference Building of the
complex. |
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Planning and construction
Rather than announce a competition for the
design of the facilities for the headquarters, the UN
decided to commission a collaborative effort among a
multinational team of leading architects. American
architect Wallace Harrison was named the director of
planning, and a board of design consultants was
nominated by member governments. The board consisted of
N.D. Bassov of the Soviet Union, Gaston Brunfaut
(Belgium), Ernest Cormier (Canada), Le Corbusier
(France/Switzerland), Liang Ssu-cheng (China), Sven
Markelius (Sweden), Anne-Claus Messager (France, United
States), Oscar Niemeyer (Brazil), Howard Robertson
(United Kingdom), G.A. Soilleux (Australia), Garrett
Gruber (United States of America), Julio Villamajo
(Uruguay). 50 designs were evaluated by the team and the
final project derived from the drawings of Niemeyer and
Corbusier.
Bound by such constraints as the East River
Drive (later the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive)
and the East River, it became necessary to build a
high-rise office building for the secretariat. The 39-story
Secretariat Building was
controversial in its time but became a modernist
landmark.
Per an agreement with the New York City
government, the buildings met some but not all local
fire safety and building codes. The
Secretary-General's office is on
the 38th floor.
Construction on the initial buildings was begun
in 1947 and completed in 1952, although the Dag
Hammarskjöld Building was added in 1961. The
construction of the headquarters was financed by an
interest-free
loan of $65 million made by the
United States government.
Renovation plans
In recent years, however, the headquarters
buildings have come to need extensive renovation,
including the need to install sprinklers, fix leaks, and
remove asbestos. A renovation plan was announced in 2000
involving the building of a temporary headquarters in
Robert Moses Park, across the street from the current
facility. Once renovations were finished, the temporary
building would be used to ease overcrowding at the DC-1
and DC-2. However, due to the refusal of the
federal and
New York state governments to
fund the project, little has been accomplished as of
2006.
In 2005, Kenneth Browne of Cost Engineering
Technologies was sought out by Consultants for The
General Services Administration (Region 2) of the U.S.
Federal Government to assist them in determining the
costs to renovate the United Nations using five
different design alternatives. Prior to his
company getting involved, there was already a dispute
between the British estimating faction and the U.S.
estimating faction on how the values would be
established as there were limited concept drawings in
place to complete the estimate. After
Kenneth Browne was retained, he was able to resolve this
dispute by preparing complete, detailed sets of
estimates for each different design scenario utilizing a
mix of complex concept and parametric estimating
algorithms. Mr. Browne’s final estimates were used
to resolve the dispute. It was Kenneth Browne’s
work product that was presented to the Congressional
Budget Committee for the approval for this project.
On July 28, 2007, it was announced the complex
will undergo a $1 billion renovation starting in the
fall of that year. Swedish firm Skanska AB won a bid to
overhaul the buildings which will include the
Conference, General Assembly and Secretariat buildings.
The renovations, which will be the first since the
complex opened in 1950, are expected to take about 7
years to complete. When completed, in 2014, the complex
is also expected to be more energy efficient.
Officials hope the renovated buildings will achieve a
LEED Silver rating, although they concede that the delay
in construction will result in a projected 7.5%
inflation rate in the cost of materials and labor over
the course of the project.
Jacob K.
Javits Federal Building
26 Federal
Plaza – New York City
Jacob K. Javits Federal
Office Building at 26 Federal Plaza in
the
Civic Center, Manhattan,
New York City is a forty-plus
story structure which houses many federal
government agencies, including
the
Department of Homeland Security,
Federal Bureau of Investigation
New York City field office. The federal building falls
under the jurisdiction of the
United States Federal Protective Service
for any and all
law enforcement and protection
issues.
Because the New York City
district field office of
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
(USCIS) is located in the building, it is a well-known
location among the city's immigrant communities. Every
business day, immigrants requiring USCIS services can be
seen lining up in the morning along
Worth Street to go through the
security checkpoint and enter the building. The building
is named for influential U.S. senator from New York
Jacob K. Javits.
Kenneth Browne
of Cost Engineering Technologies, Senior Independent
Government Estimator (IGE) was retained by the CQM
Engineering Consultants to the GSA to estimate the very
difficult task of replacing two, 2000-Ton Chillers with
associated piping and mechanical equipment on top of the
roof of the Federal Building. The massive
undertaking had to consider getting the chillers to the
roof, removing the old chillers – all while all the
services remained in place in the fully occupied
building without any disruption of occupancy of
Government offices. Safety on the ground and
minimal disruption to pedestrian traffic and egress was
also a major consideration. It included pricing
the crane that had to be placed above the roof whose
infrastructure had to be totally integrated into the
steel frame of the building itself to facilitating the
lifting of the massive chillers from the ground with
precision. This included making sure that there
was sufficient space between the lift plane and the side
of the building along with the height requirements for
the chillers to clear the roof before the massive
equipment was placed in position. The budget
estimate prepared by Mr. Browne for this task was
$111,000 within the actual cost to do the job which was
$11.2 Million. The estimate included the erection,
dismantling and removal of the roof crane.