In August, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 2,185 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $2.8 billion and approved nearly 2 million payments worth more than $11.1 billion. The office rejected 231 contracts and related transactions valued at $391 million and nearly 1,800 payments valued at more than $12.8 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at Open Book New York.

Major Contracts Approved

Department of Corrections and Community Supervision

• $1.5 million with The Clocktower Hotel at the Century House LLC for training academy lodging services.  

State Education Department

• $9 million with MetriTech Inc. for development and administration of the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT).  

Office of General Services – Design & Construction

• $31.9 million with ELQ Industries Inc. for bridge and control tower work at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in Westchester County.
• $8 million with Guth Deconzo Consulting Engineers PC for construction management services at the Empire State Plaza in Albany County.
• $3.3 million for electric charging stations and infrastructure, including: $1.1 million with Apache Legend Group Corp., $1.1 million with Renua Energy Inc., and $1.1 million with Upstate Companies I LLC. 
• $2.5 million with Ben Ciccone Inc. for parking area and stormwater conveyance system rehabilitation at the Peekskill Armory in Westchester County.  

Department of Health

• $170 million with Opad Media Solutions LLC for media buying and planning services.  
• $7.5 million with New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission for technical assistance and program management of the Source Water Assessment Program.  
• $5.8 million to the American Lung Association for administration of the Asthma Control Program. 
• $2.2 million with Insight Public Sector for Informatica software.  
• $2.1 million with Natus Medical Inc. for provision of the Laboratory Information Management System.  
• $1.1 million with White Glove Placement Inc. for registered nursing services. 

New York State Thruway Authority

• $67.7 million with Piasecki Steel Construction Corp. for structural steel repairs and light pole replacements in Erie and Niagara counties.  
• $9.3 million with DA Collins Construction Co Inc. for the preservation of bridges over the Kaaterskill and Catskill creeks in Greene County. 
• $2.5 million with JAGD Construction Inc. for the painting of four bridges in Erie and Chautauqua counties. 

Department of Motor Vehicles

• $5.4 million with Currier McCabe & Associates Inc. for Google Cloud deployment services.  

Department of Transportation

• $137.7 million with EE Cruz & Co. for a bridge replacement on the Bronx River Parkway in Bronx County.   
• $8.4 million with CCI Companies Inc. for paving and intersection improvements on Route 31 in Cicero in Onondaga County.  
• $3.5 million with AECOM USA Inc. for improvements to the Bruckner Expressway in Bronx County.

State University Construction Fund

• $43.5 million with Manning Squires Hennig Co. for classroom building renovations at Buffalo State College in Erie County. 
• $2.8 million with Greenwood Industries Inc. to replace roofs at SUNY New Paltz in Ulster County.
• $2.4 million with ME Engineering PC for design services to replace mechanical equipment at SUNY Fredonia in Chautauqua County.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds and Credits

• $454.1 million for 119,948 personal income tax refunds.
• $125.5 million for 22,081 corporate and other tax refunds.
• $82.7 million for 130,742 property tax credits. 

Department of Civil Service

• $382.6 million to CaremarkPCS Health LLC to provide pharmacy benefit services for the Empire, Excelsior, and Student Employee Health plans.
• $45.9 million to Carelon Behavioral Health Inc. for benefit services for the Mental Health & Substance Abuse Program of the Empire Plan. 

State Education Department

• $658.1 million in excess cost aid to 672 school districts for school-aged special education students.
• $552 million in BOCES aid to 37 organizations.
• $720,200 in general aid to two school districts. 

Empire State Development Corporation

• $7.1 million to Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance Inc. for a portion of operational design, procurement, and installation costs for a radar/sensor test corridor for unmanned aircraft systems in Central New York and the Mohawk Valley.
• $1.8 million to Oneida County for a portion of the design, planning, construction, and renovation cost for the SkyDome, a 55,000 square-foot indoor research and testing facility for unmanned aircraft systems at Griffiss International Airport.

Gaming Commission

• $8.5 million to 26 localities for gaming revenue distributions for the del Lago Resort and Casino, Rivers Casino and Resort, Tioga Downs Casino, and Resorts World Catskills.
• $8.3 million for tribal-state compact payments to the counties of Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Oswego, and Otsego.

Office of General Services

• $14 million for hourly-based IT services, including $2.5 million to Knowledge Builders Inc., $1.8 million to MVP Consulting Plus Inc., $1.7 million to Panha Solutions Inc., and $8 million to 27 other vendors.

 Department of Health

• $17.8 million to Maximus Inc. for assistance with the Health Benefit Exchange, including insurance enrollment and call center operations.

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

• $23.6 million to New York City for the Urban Area Security Initiative Program.

Department of Labor

• $275.4 million for payments under the Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation programs.

State University of New York Construction Fund

• $1.2 million to Fahs Construction Group Inc. for the construction of a Health & Wellness Center at the State University Health Science Center at Syracuse. 

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

• $48.7 million for payments under the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
• $1.5 million for payments under the Landlord Rental Assistance Program.

Other Contract and Payment Rejections and Other Cost Recoveries

DiNapoli’s office rejected tax refunds and credits valued at more than $2.2 million. Auditors also recovered nearly $340,400 from vendors owing debts to the state and held nearly $45,200 in payments pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and prime contractors.  

Cumulatively through August for calendar year 2023, DiNapoli’s office approved 15,859 contracts valued at $27.2 billion and approved nearly 21.1 million payments worth more than $127.5 billion. The office rejected 1,403 contracts and related transactions valued at nearly $4.4 billion and nearly 31,100 payments valued at nearly $150 million primarily due to errors, improprieties, or lack of documentation.