The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey opened bids May 6 on Contract WTC-964.011A, flood mitigation and resiliency improvements at grade at the World Trade Center: the Greenwich Street bollard protection system and water intrusion protection system. Six bids came in. Steven Dubner Landscaping, Inc., doing business as Dubner Landscaping & Construction, of Westbury, was apparent low at $3,870,000.
The rest of the field, per the Port Authority's preliminary results: Paul J. Scariano, Inc., New Rochelle, $3,934,000; Fos Development Corp., Long Island City, $3,975,000; C.A.C. Industries, Inc., Long Island City, $4,132,620; Gramercy Group, Inc., Wantagh, $4,198,000; and Gateway Demo/Civil Corp., Hicksville, $4,545,000. Just $64,000 separates first and second, 1.65%. The high bid is 17.4% above the low. The median is $4,053,810.
The "A" on the contract number is the tell. The same job, WTC-964.011, opened May 28, 2025 with 12 bids. Paul J. Scariano was low then at $3,532,604, followed by Gramercy Group at $3,819,000, PETK, Inc. at $3,990,000, Navillus Tile, Inc. d/b/a Navillus Contracting at $4,120,000, C.A.C. Industries at $4,266,936, DiFazio Industries at $4,750,800, Fos Development at $4,920,000, Steven Dubner Landscaping at $4,985,250, J. D'Annunzio & Sons at $5,247,000, Titan Industrial Services at $5,535,748, T. Moriarty & Son at $6,147,000 and Lima Contractors at $6,777,000. That field spread 91.8% from low to high around a median of $4,835,400. The Port Authority's posted results do not say why the 2025 round did not produce an award.
Round two moved the numbers in both directions. Dubner cut its price by $1,115,250, or 22.4%, and went from eighth to first. Fos came down $945,000. C.A.C. came down $134,316. Scariano went up $401,396 and slid to second; Gramercy went up $379,000 and fell from second to fifth. The new low is $337,396, or 9.6%, above last year's low. Seven of the 12 firms from 2025, Navillus and D'Annunzio among them, did not return, and Gateway Demo/Civil was the one new name.
The scope is street-level flood defense, not a building. The Port Authority's 2025 bidder question log describes floodwalls and portable flood barriers as part of the work, says Build America, Buy America requirements on the barriers cannot be waived, and says the barrier is designed to withstand a one-foot flood height. The program is not new: in October 2019 the Port Authority opened bids on WTC-964.946, the at-grade bollard and water intrusion systems at the West Bathtub vehicular access, where Navillus Tile was low of 11 at $5,958,608. The board listing for this rebid is RFI-000510.
Why this matters. Rebids are supposed to sharpen prices. This one tightened the field instead of lowering it: the spread collapsed from 91.8% to 17.4%, but the floor rose. Seven of the 12 original bidders walked away, and the six that bid this time landed within $675,000 of each other. For the Port Authority, the second try costs more than the first low bid would have. For bidders, the lesson is that last year's number is not this year's number, in either direction. Apparent low is not an award.
What to do next. Site, concrete, security-bollard and flood-barrier suppliers should price to Dubner Landscaping & Construction and confirm domestic sourcing on barrier products before they quote, since the Buy America rule does not bend. Watch for the Port Authority's award on WTC-964.011A.