The School Construction Authority opened ten bids at 12:50 p.m. on June 12 for a building-systems and envelope job at PS/MS 20 on Webster Avenue in the Bronx (solicitation 26-026747). Adam's European Contracting Inc. was low at $44,107,000. Venus Group, Inc. was second at $45,784,000, $1,677,000 (3.8%) behind. The high bid was $59,666,000, so the field spread $15,559,000, or 35.3%. The apparent low is not an award.

The SCA's scope line: HVAC and building management system upgrade, rooftop unit replacement, fire alarm system replacement, roofs and exterior masonry. The agency's capital data carries the larger project, which also includes an FY21 Reso A playground upgrade, as finished design in April 2026. The building at 3050 Webster Avenue is shared; the city's school directory lists PS/MS 20 P.O. George J. Werdann, III there, and the SCA's data lists a special education program in the same building.

The full field, with each firm's alternate price: Adam's European at $44,107,000 (alternate $490,000); Venus Group at $45,784,000 ($325,000); Whitestone Construction Corp. at $46,521,000 ($330,000); Infinity Contracting Services, Corp. at $46,923,000 ($523,000); Roma Scaffolding, Inc. at $47,261,000 ($450,000); Neelam Construction Corp. at $49,574,000 ($462,000); Northeast Restoration Corp. at $52,740,000 ($360,000); ABC Construction Contracting, Inc. at $56,830,000 ($430,000); Kel-Tech Construction, Inc. at $57,700,000 ($700,000); and National Environmental Safety Company, Inc. high at $59,666,000 ($400,000). The median is $48,417,500, and the low is 8.9% under it. The tab ranks on the base bid and does not say what the alternate buys.

Adam's European named Forsythe Plumbing & Heating Corporation for plumbing, Tameer Inc. for HVAC and KLK Electric, Inc. for electrical, the three trades New York's Wicks Law makes bidders spell out on the tab.

The pack is familiar. Eight of these ten firms also bid the SCA's DCAS electrification job at PS 107 in Flushing on May 4, Roma, second at PS 107 by $11,000, finished fifth here; Venus, tenth at PS 107, finished second. The field is deep because the work is steady: the SCA's amended five-year plan, noticed in February, carries $7.95 billion for capital investment in existing buildings on top of its capacity program.

Why this matters. The gap between the bottom half and the top half of this field is wider than on most of the SCA's spring tabs. The top five sit inside $3.2 million; the next five climb another $12.4 million. A split like that usually means half the room priced the mechanical work to win and half priced it to be safe.

What to do next. Controls, rooftop equipment, fire alarm, roofing and masonry subs: the named HVAC and electrical firms are the first calls, and everyone else prices to Adam's European as the apparent low. Wait for the SCA award before committing. The board item is RFI-000390.

Update, Sept. 28, 2026: The SCA's bid tabulation for solicitation 26-026747 now marks Adam's European Contracting Inc. as the awarded bidder.