Amityville Woman Changing the Face of the Male Dominated Industry

Margaruite Bynum serves as an Assistant Project Manager at B2K Development, the firm responsible for The Bristal Assisted Living brand, encompassing 16 communities on Long Island. They are also the builders and developers behind numerous 55+ communities across Nassau and Suffolk, as well as the latest projects located on Long Beach's former Super Block: The Breeze Oceanfront Rentals and The Boardwalk luxury condominiums.

The 46-year-old Bynum, is a Graduate of SUNY Empire State she grew up in Farmingdale and now lives in Amityville, she is one of the one million 173,000 women that currently work in construction, a male dominated industry, where only 9.9% of construction workers are women.

Ms. Bynum says construction was in her DNA, she was destined for this career. Her father worked in construction for 40 years. She says there is no greater feeling than starting with nothing and helping to shape it into a finished project that people will live in or work in.

“I was part of the team that built The Bristal at Bethpage, which opened in September of 2022. We were building it during the height of COVID, and so much of our effort focused on designing and creating a building that would address the safety protocols and needs that residents in a COVID impacted world would need to live with. The intelligence and foresight that went into that project has been the most rewarding period in my career.”

As an Assistant Project Manager, Bynum who is currently working on a third-party construction project in Astoria Queens, may supervise as many as 175 men on any project. “I am greatly aware of the obstacles that the women who came before me faced, I understand the difficulties they encountered breaking into a male dominated industry. I can only imagine the discrimination they faced and the roadblocks they had to overcome, but thankfully that is not the workplace environment I have had to deal with. From the day I entered the industry, I have been surrounded by colleagues who took the time to teach me and share their expertise.”

Bynum says the stereotype of what life on a construction site was like is no longer accurate in 2024. “I am treated with respect. I have found that if you treat your colleagues with respect, they will do the same. I am not viewed as the woman on the team, but a valuable team member and I am most appreciative of that.”