The lowest price at a DASNY bid opening does not always get the contract. The agency's award tables for five construction contracts it opened between August 2025 and February 2026 show each one going to the second-lowest bidder. City College's Shepard Hall job is the latest, awarded on June 9. None of the award tables states why the apparent low was passed over.

City College, Shepard Hall Room 51. Precision Group NYC read low at $7,850,224 on February 3. KoKo Contracting was second at $7,883,000 and was awarded the contract on June 9, 2026, at that amount, $32,776 more than the low. All 24 bids on the job came in over DASNY's $7.1 million to $7.3 million estimate. Solicitation 3761609999 CR21, RFI-000815.

Brooklyn College, East Quad phase 1. Jaysan Contracting read low at $8,081,433 on August 14, 2025. Steven Dubner Landscaping was second at $8,218,800, $137,367 higher, and was awarded on September 30, 2025, at that amount. DASNY's tab shows a dash in Jaysan's alternate column, where Dubner priced the job's one alternate at $54,000. Solicitation 351420, RFI-000958.

Kingsborough Community College pool. 2 Saab Construction read low at $7,457,000 on November 25, 2025. Project Eye Consultants was second at $9,473,824 and was awarded on March 26, 2026, at that amount. That is $2,016,824, or 27.0 percent, more than the low, and still $2,026,176 under the bottom of DASNY's $11.5 million estimate. Solicitation 342350/C542, RFI-000875.

Kingsboro Psychiatric Center roofs. Tri-Rail Designers & Builders read low at $1,485,000 on January 13, 2026, out of 32 bids. PB Contracting, second at $1,545,000, was awarded on March 26 at that amount, $60,000 more. Solicitation 3689309999 CR6, RFI-000844. Nathan Kline Institute HVAC. On the HVAC prime contract of the Orangeburg elevator job, Grandeur Hills Group read low at $312,371 on January 14. Tameers Inc., second at $320,900, was awarded on March 24 at that amount, $8,529 more. Solicitation 3776909999, contract CR8.

Add it up and the five awards total $2,255,496 more than the five apparent lows, and $2,016,824 of that is the Kingsborough pool. DASNY's public pages record only the result. They do not say why any of the five apparent lows was passed over, and this paper does not guess.

Why this matters. If you are a sub who priced to the apparent low on a DASNY job and signed on early, these five contracts are the reason to hold your paper loosely until the award table posts. The runner-up ends up building the job more often than most subs assume. It matters to GCs too: when the second bid is close, the runner-up has a real chance at the job.

What to do next. On any DASNY job, send pricing to the top two bidders, not only the low, until the award is posted. Check the award table on the agency's solicitation page before mobilizing. If you are a prime, get your qualification package, surety paperwork and bid forms squared away before the opening. On these five jobs, the second-lowest bid turned out to be the one that counted.