The state Office of General Services opened two general-construction jobs at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, 80-45 Winchester Boulevard in Queens Village, this month, and they drew 49 bids between them. Both carry 15% MBE and 15% WBE goals in OGS's utilization plans.

First, on July 9, contract 47259-C: replace the guard booth and install a sliding gate at Building 45 on the South Campus. Twenty-three bids. I A Construction Solutions, LLC is the apparent low at $716,786, and HF Construction Enterprises is second at $872,000, $155,214 or 21.7% higher. Mark Contracting NY ($970,121) and High Point Construction Group ($970,643) are $522 apart for third. The high is Perfetto Enterprises Co. at $1,945,521, a 171.4% spread; the median is $1,226,091. The tab notes an informality on the low bid, "Contractor NYS DOL Registration Number Incorrect or Missing on Bid Form," and flags three others: Dynamic GC for an unacknowledged addendum, and KianPJSJV and Spencer Engineering Lab for "Incomplete Form, No Financial Statement of Surety." None is marked disqualified.

Then, on July 30, contract 47434-C: exterior masonry repairs on Buildings 60 and 61 and a new roof on Building 61. Twenty-six bids, and the two lowest were disqualified. Bayport Construction Corp. read lowest at $1,641,242, with the codes "BID DISQUALIFIED - No Bid Security" and "BID DISQUALIFIED - Contractor Not Registered on NYS DOL Registry." RK Best Construction's $1,749,200, second-lowest, is marked "BID DISQUALIFIED - Other - Non-Responsive." Further up the tab, Melange Restoration's $2,041,200 is marked "BID DISQUALIFIED - No Bid Security."

That makes Saheet Construction Corp. the lowest bid still standing at $1,879,200, and it is a photo finish: Probuildero Corp. is $9,773 behind at $1,888,973, followed by AKM Construction Services at $1,915,200, High Point Construction Group at $1,918,307 and GL Group at $1,919,000. Five bids inside $39,800. The high is Pro-Metal Construction at $3,761,200, 100.1% over Saheet. Three bids (Atlantic Specialty, S&S Kings and Pro-Metal) carry the surety-statement code, and Dynamic GC's is noted for a DCA-3 form without an original signature.

Why this matters. On 47434-C, the two cheapest numbers never counted, and two of the three disqualifications came down to bid security, the most basic document in the envelope. The real race was five firms inside 2.1% of each other, which is what a mature market for small institutional masonry work looks like. The guard booth tab points the other way: a low bid 21.7% under the next one on a job that is part gatehouse, part site work, part gate hardware.

What to do next. Neither apparent low is an award. Masonry, roofing and scaffold subs should price to Saheet and Probuildero; gate, fence, electrical and prefab-booth suppliers should price to I A Construction and HF. Track both on our board: RFI-000989 (guard booth) and RFI-000970 (Buildings 60 and 61).

Update, Sept. 28, 2026: OGS lists 47259-C as awarded Sept. 25, 2025, with its utilization plan naming I A Construction Solutions at $716,786, and 47434-C as awarded Feb. 9, 2026, with its plan naming Saheet Construction Corp. at $1,879,200.