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Reletting The Abandoned Or Defaulted Public Works Project In New York- To Bid Or Not To Bid?, Bruce J. Bergman

Fordham Urban Law Journal

The general requirement that contracts for public works be let pursuant to advertisements for bids to the lowest responsible bidder has long been the law in New York and other jurisdictions. After determining that the mandatory statutory pronouncements apply to a particular contract, there is an entire "second level" problem of the propriety of bids and the awarding of the contract pursuant thereto. Suppose a contractor has defaulted or abandoned a valid public works contract. Must the public entity now readvertise for bids for the completion of the work? The answer in most instances is "no," and this raises the …