In January, the Office of the State Comptroller approved 1,196 contracts for state agencies and public authorities valued at $3.7 billion and approved more than 20.3 million payments worth nearly $14.9 billion. The Office rejected 108 contracts and related transactions valued at $170 million and nearly 5,500 payments valued at almost $8 million, primarily for mistakes, insufficient support for charges, and improper payments. More information on these contracts and payments is available at www.openbooknewyork.com.

The Governor’s Executive Order 202 suspended the Office of the State Comptroller’s review and approval of contracts related to the COVID-19 crisis until March 24, 2021. At the administration's request, OSC has been expediting payments for purchases.

Major Contracts Approved

City University of New York

• $26.3 million with Sierra Cedar Inc. for CUNYFirst application management services.

State Education Department

• $4.5 million to the New York City School District for Pre-Employment Transition Services for Students with Disabilities.

Department of Environmental Conservation

• $1.6 million with Lane Press Inc. for printing and distribution of hunting and trapping regulation guides.

Office of General Services - Design & Construction

• $2.8 million with Digesare Mechanical Inc. to replace heat exchangers at Upstate Correctional Facility in Franklin County.
• $2.6 million with Slade Industries Inc. to rehabilitate elevators at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens County.
• $1.8 million with Awe Incorporated for roof replacement at Nathan Kline Research Institute in Rockland County.
• $1.7 million with Nua Construction Corp. for roof replacement at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Westchester County.

Department of Labor

• $65.9 million with New York State Insurance Fund to lease office space in New York County.

Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation

• $3.6 million with DF Stone Contracting Ltd. to purchase clean beach sand for Heckscher State Park and Captree State Park in Suffolk County.
• $1.7 million with BBA Inc. for pool complex rehabilitation at Mine Kill State Park in Schoharie County.

Office of the State Comptroller

• $9.7 million with KPMG LLP for professional auditing services for New York State annual financial statements and eMedNY.

State University Construction Fund

• $4.7 million with Boilermatic Welding Industries Inc. for renovation of the Marine Engineering Lab at SUNY Maritime.
• $2.7 million with Wainschaf Associates Inc. for renovation of restrooms at University at Albany.

State University of New York

• $11.8 million with Upstate University Medical Associates at Syracuse Inc. for dietitian staffing services at Upstate Medical University.
• $6.3 million with Birdsall Voss & Associates Inc. for marketing and advertising campaign services at Stony Brook University.

New York State Thruway Authority

• $85.4 million with Empire State Thruway Partners LLC for the lease, design, construction, financing, and operation of 27 service areas.
• $7 million with Duncan Solutions Inc. for electronic tolling collection services.

Department of Transportation

• $318.6 million with Halmar International LLC for capacity and access improvements on the Van Wyck Expressway in Queens County.
• $3.5 million with Kubricky Construction Corp. for asphalt resurfacing, median barrier replacement, and guide rails on I-87 in Saratoga County.
• $3.3 million with McLaughlin Construction Corp. for general bridge repairs on five bridges in Erie and Niagara counties.
• $3.2 million with Callanan Industries Inc. for pavement resurfacing on Route 299 in Ulster County.
• $2.6 million with Slate Hill Constructors Inc. for replacement of NY Route 48 bridge over Tannery Creek in Oswego County.
• $2 million with Callanan Industries Inc. for pavement resurfacing on Routes 44 and 82 in Dutchess County.

Major Payments Approved

Tax Refunds and Credits

• $252.6 million for 22,267 corporate and other refunds.
• $146.6 million for 597,599 personal income tax refunds.
• $17.9 million for 19,642 property tax credits.

Department of Agriculture and Markets

• $1.2 million to the NYS Federation of Growers & Processors Associations Inc. to provide early childhood education and social services under the Agri-Business Child Development Program.

Department of Civil Service

• $270.4 million to CVS Caremark to provide pharmacy benefit services for the Empire, Excelsior and Student Employee Health plans.
• $29.7 million to Beacon Health Options Inc. for benefit services for the Mental Health & Substance Abuse Program for the NYS Empire Plan.

State Education Department

• $411.4 million in general aid to 107 school districts.
• $155.1 million in BOCES aid to 36 school districts.

Empire State Development Corporation

• $2.2 million to the Genesee County Industrial Development Agency to design a water system, sewer plant and electric substation for the Science and Technology Advanced Manufacturing Park industrial campus.
• $1.7 million to Excell Technology Ventures, Inc. to provide financing for high-tech startup companies in the Finger Lakes Region through the Finger Lakes Venture Fund.
• $1.5 million to CenterState Corporation for the Economic Opportunity business competition under the Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York (GENIUS NY) program.

Gaming Commission

• $6.5 million for gaming revenue distributions from the Tioga Downs, Rivers, Montreign and Del Lago casinos to 26 local governments.

Office of General Services

• $11.6 million for hourly-based IT services, including $2.2 million to MVP Consulting Plus, Inc., $1.5 million to Knowledge Builders Inc., $1.1 million to PSI International Inc., and $6.8 million to 31 other vendors.

Department of Health

• $11.4 million for purchases to support the COVID-19 pandemic response, including nursing services, tent rentals, and medical and dental supplies and equipment.
• $9.8 million to New York eHealth Collaborative, Inc. for the Statewide Health Information Network for New York.

Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services

• $9.5 million for purchases to support the COVID-19 pandemic response, including warehouse management services and medical supplies and materials.
• $4.4 million to New York City for the Urban Area Security Initiative.

Office of Information Technology Services

• $11.8 million for purchases to support the COVID-19 pandemic response, including notebook computers, parts and equipment and IT consulting services.

Department of Labor

• $5.4 billion for payments under the Unemployment Insurance, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation and Lost Wages Assistance programs.

State University of New York

• $4.9 million for purchases to support the COVID-19 pandemic response, including medical and laboratory supplies and services.

Department of Transportation

• $1.8 million to Tully Construction Co., Inc. for bridge rehabilitation on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx.

Unified Court System

• $9.5 million to The Legal Aid Society for Attorneys for Children Program.
• $2.1 million to The Children’s Law Center for the Law Guardian Legal Aid Program.

Other Payment Rejections and Cost Recoveries

The office rejected nearly 5,500 payments valued at almost $8 million, including tax refunds and credits valued at more than $730,000. The Comptroller’s auditors also recovered more than $91,000 from vendors owing debts to the state, and held payments of more than $96,000 pending resolution of disputes between subcontractors and prime contractors.

Find out how your government money is spent at Open Book New York. Track municipal spending, the state's 180,000 contracts, billions in state payments and public authority data. Visit the Reading Room for contract FOIL requests, bid protest decisions and commonly requested data, including Legislative travel and per diem expenses.