Paving the road to a more sophisticated future

Hello! Thanks for stopping by! Before you go ahead and read my blog, I figure it might be a good idea to introduce myself! My name is Jake Raguso, and I am an Experienced Construction Superintendent with over 11 years of hands-on expertise managing tenant improvements, interior buildouts, core & shell, and ground-up construction throughout New York City’s fast-paced commercial landscape. After a long 11 years of learning, growing, and adapting to this fast-paced environment, I have gained an understanding of the unique demands of TI work—tight timelines, active buildings, and high-end finishes—just as well as the complex coordination required for major ground-up builds. Whether transforming occupied spaces or running a site from day one, I have learned to keep projects on schedule, within budget, and up to the highest standards of quality and safety.

Before stepping into my leadership role, I worked as a proud member of Local 79 General Building Construction Laborers, gaining years of experience as a union laborer. That background gave me a deep respect for the trades and a practical, boots-on-the-ground approach to managing job sites. It’s helped me build strong rapport with crews, anticipate challenges before they hit, and lead with both authority and respect. I feel that the time I spent in the field, really gave me a leg up as a leader, because I am able to say that “I’ve been there, done that”, and I am able to view situations from a different lense, which helps me come up with out of the box solutions. I entered the apprenticeship program for Local 79 back in 2015, after not knowing where I was going to go in life or how I was going to get there, but not long into my new endeavor, I realized that I fell in love with construction and everything that was associated with it. During my time as a laborer apprentice, I worked hard, listened to the old timers, and I took every available class the training school had to offer. I have acquired over 30 certifications recognized by the NYC DOB, FDNY, and OSHA. To name a few, I currently possess an OSHA 30, a 62-Hour SST Supervisor certification, and the FDNY S-56 Construction Fire Safety Manager card—which gives me the ability and knowledge to keep every job site safe, compliant, and running smoothly in one of the most highly regulated cities in the world. A few years later, I had realized how much I had learned on my journey so far and that I was good at what I did. I started taking on leadership roles as a laborer, whether it was an official title, or just being a leader among my peers, which made me realize that I wanted to squeeze out everything that this industry had to offer. Which is what lead me to my journey of chasing the dream of being a Superintendent.

11 years later and proudly holding a role as superintendent at Clune Construction, I would consider myself to be skilled in project planning, subcontractor coordination, site supervision, and quality control. I believe I bring a collaborative mindset to every build and a steady hand under pressure. From high-profile developments to fast-track interior jobs, I’m driven by a commitment to excellence, accountability, and results, which is why I started this blog, to share my knowledge with all of you and explore some new ideas, while predicting where I see the construction industry going over the next 5-10 years. I will be writing opinion pieces based on my interpretation of new trends in construction, safety protocols, code upgrades, integration of robotic and A.I in construction and how it will affect all of my brothers and sisters that wake up every day to build NYC, the 50 states, and across all 7 continents. Thank you in advance for reading my thoughts and joining me on this journey!