Two Bronx schools named for the Dunbars went out to bid on back-to-back days, both for full program accessibility, and Zarco Contracting Inc. finished near the top of both. On the first it was low. On the second it was $164,000 short.

Monday, June 8, 2:19 p.m.: the NYC School Construction Authority opened solicitation 26-026716 at P.S. 126 Dr. Marjorie H. Dunbar, 175 West 166th Street in Highbridge. The scope is full program accessibility and low-voltage electrical systems, bundled with roofs, parapets and flood elimination. Fifteen firms bid. Zarco Contracting Inc. was low at $24,444,000. KG Construction Services, Inc. was second at $25,524,400, NEHAL CONTRACTING, INC. third at $26,864,000, and ABC CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTING, INC. high at $34,860,000. That's a $1,080,400 gap to second (4.4%) and a 42.6% spread. The median bid was $29,920,000, so Zarco came in 18.3% under the middle of the room. Board listing: RFI-000408.

Tuesday, June 9, 12:18 p.m.: solicitation 26-23222D at M.S. 301 Paul L. Dunbar, 890 Cauldwell Avenue in Morrisania, a building the city lists as X120. This one is accessibility and low-voltage work without the roof. Seventeen firms bid. National Environmental Safety Company, Inc. was low at $15,911,000. Zarco was second at $16,075,000. POSITIVE ELECTRICAL ASSOCIATES, INC. was third at $16,295,000 and PMY CONSTRUCTION CORP. fourth at $16,468,920. ABC was high again, at $22,375,000. First to second is 1.0%. The top four sit inside $557,920. The spread is 40.6% and the median was $17,878,000.

Ten firms bid both jobs. Besides Zarco, NEHAL CONTRACTING, INC. was third and sixth, and National Environmental Safety Company, Inc. went from sixth at P.S. 126 to first at M.S. 301. Neither tab came with a published engineer's estimate. Apparent low is not an award on either.

"Full program accessibility" is the SCA's term for making a whole building usable by students and staff with disabilities, not just the entrance. The City Council's review of the February 2026 capital plan amendment puts $800 million in the plan for accessibility and says that's not enough: it would bring primary school buildings to 40% compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, against an earlier estimate of about $4 billion for full compliance. As of that review, only $126 million had been committed, for 15 projects. P.S. 126 is on the Council's list of funded accessibility projects.

Why this matters. Accessibility jobs are elevator, ramp, restroom, door hardware and low-voltage work, and there's a lot of it still to be bid. The Council's numbers say roughly $674 million of the plan's accessibility money was still waiting for projects. These two tabs show the field is deep: 32 bids from 22 firms in two days.

What to do next. Elevator, low-voltage, door hardware and finish subs should price to Zarco Contracting Inc. at P.S. 126 and National Environmental Safety Company, Inc. at M.S. 301, and keep a line open to the second bidders. Watch the SCA tabs for 26-026716 and 26-23222D for the award flags. Our M.S. 301 listing is RFI-000404.

Update, Sept. 28, 2026: The SCA's tabs now mark Zarco Contracting Inc. as awarded on P.S. 126 at $24,444,000 and National Environmental Safety Company, Inc. as awarded on M.S. 301 at $15,911,000.