MTA Construction & Development opened nine bids July 15 on contract C40903, replacement of the fire suppression pipe at the East New York Bus Depot, 25 Jamaica Avenue in Brooklyn. The notice lists the scope as new sprinkler piping and heads, a topographic survey, removal and replacement of the existing fire service connections and sidewalk, and lead and asbestos abatement in all areas the work touches.
It is an A+B contract: A is the price, B is a dollar value put on the bidder's milestone schedule, and the ranking runs on the sum. B&R Construction Services Corp. is the apparent low on that evaluated total at $8,875,000, made up of an $8,875,000 A price and a B value of $0. Richards Plumbing & Heating Co. is second on the evaluated total at $11,634,571.60, but its A price, $6,702,671.60, was the lowest price anyone submitted, $2,172,328.40 under B&R's. Richards carried a B value of $4,931,900.
The field on evaluated totals, with the A price in parentheses: B&R Construction Services, $8,875,000 ($8,875,000); Richards Plumbing & Heating, $11,634,571.60 ($6,702,671.60); FOS Development Corp., $13,990,000 ($7,821,500); Stirling Mechanical, $15,583,500 ($9,646,000); Approved General Contracting, $16,947,025 ($8,152,025); Sea Breeze General Construction, $20,024,315 ($11,729,315); Infinity Contracting Services, $20,143,000 ($11,336,000); Anvil Mechanical, $20,401,000 ($10,925,000); Lima Contractors, $22,040,000 ($13,000,000).
The evaluated gap between first and second is $2,759,571.60, or 31.1%, and the evaluated spread from low to high is 148.3%. On price alone the spread is 94.0%, with a median A price of $9,646,000. The notice advertised an estimate range of $5 million to $10 million, and five of the nine A prices fall inside it. It also lists 100% federal transit funding, a 22.5% DBE goal and a 730-day term. The notice first set the opening for July 8.
Why this matters. On an A+B tab the B column is where schedule gets priced, and a $0 there beats a $2.2 million price advantage. B&R's price was the fourth-lowest of nine; its schedule number did the rest. The tab by itself does not say how the agency will treat that entry, so this is one to watch before anyone treats the ranking as settled.
What to do next. The apparent low is not an award. Sprinkler fitters, abatement contractors and sidewalk crews should have numbers in to both B&R and Richards until C&D names its pick, and DBE firms should be calling both about the 22.5% goal. Follow it on our board: RFI-000980.
Update, Sept. 28, 2026: MTA C&D's 2025 awards list shows C40903 awarded Aug. 29, 2025, to Richards Plumbing and Heating Co., Inc. for $6,702,671.60, its A price, with a 22.5% DBE goal. The agency's record does not say why the evaluated low bidder was not selected.