N.Y. Public Housing Law § 151-a: Separate specifications for certain subdivisions of work involved in the construction or alteration of buildings as a part of or in conne...

§ 151-a. Separate specifications for certain subdivisions of work

involved in the construction or alteration of buildings as a part of or

in connection with housing projects. 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent

provision of this chapter or any other general, special or local law,

except as otherwise provided in section two hundred twenty-two of the

labor law, any authority or municipality, or any officer, board,

department, commission or other agency thereof charged with the duty of

preparing specifications or awarding or entering into contracts

involving the erection, construction, reconstruction or alteration of

any building or other appurtenance as a part of or in connection with a

project or any part thereof in any part of the state under or pursuant

to the authority of this chapter, when the entire cost of such work

shall exceed three million dollars in the counties of the Bronx, Kings,

New York, Queens, and Richmond; one million five hundred thousand

dollars in the counties of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester; and five

hundred thousand dollars in all other counties within the state, must

have prepared separate specifications for the following three

subdivisions of the work to be performed:

a. Plumbing and gas fitting;

b. Steam heating, hot water heating, ventilating and air conditioning

apparatus; and

c. Electric wiring and standard illuminating fixtures.

2. Such specifications must be so drawn as to permit separate and

independent bidding upon each of the above three subdivisions of work.

All contracts hereafter awarded by any such authority or municipality,

or any officer, board, department, commission or other agency thereof,

involving the erection, construction, reconstruction or alteration of

any building as a part of or in connection with any project under or

pursuant to this chapter, shall award the three subdivisions of the

above specified work separately to responsible and reliable persons,

firms or corporations engaged in such classes of work.

2-a. Each bidder on a public work contract, where the preparation of

separate specifications is not required, shall submit with its bid a

separate sealed list that names each subcontractor that the bidder will

use to perform work on the contract, and the agreed-upon amount to be

paid to each, for: a. plumbing and gas fitting, b. steam heating, hot

water heating, ventilating and air conditioning apparatus and c.

electric wiring and standard illuminating fixtures. After the low bid is

announced, the sealed list of subcontractors submitted with such low bid

shall be opened and the names of such subcontractors shall be announced,

and thereafter any change of subcontractor or agreed-upon amount to be

paid to each shall require the approval of the public owner, upon a

showing presented to the public owner of legitimate construction need

for such change, which shall be open to public inspection. Legitimate

construction need shall include, but not be limited to, a change in

project specifications, a change in construction material costs, a

change to subcontractor status as determined pursuant to paragraph (e)

of subdivision two of section two hundred twenty-two of the labor law,

or the subcontractor has become otherwise unwilling, unable or

unavailable to perform the subcontract. The sealed lists of

subcontractors submitted by all other bidders shall be returned to them

unopened after the contract award.

3. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any such

authority or municipality in charge of any such project from performing

any such branches of work by or through their regular employees.