Mamaroneck School System Comments on Bias Lawsuit

The Mamaroneck Union Free School District has released the following statement in response to a bias lawsuit filed against it by A-1 Construction and Renovation in Brooklyn:

As you are aware, the Murray Ave. School stairs construction project has taken much longer than originally anticipated due to the termination of the contractor originally hired to do the work. The termination of the contractor became necessary this past summer, when the District’s team of architects, engineers and others involved with the project determined that A-1 Construction and Renovation had failed to perform its contractual obligations.

After A-1 was terminated, the company filed a lawsuit against the District (the basis of yesterday’s Journal News story), claiming the company had been “wrongfully” terminated and further claiming that the termination constituted racial and religious discrimination. The District denies A-1’s claims and reiterates that the decision to terminate the agreement was made over a period of time by a team of experts that had been monitoring the company’s work regularly with multiple visits to the site. The team concluded that A-1 had substantially breached its contract and that the work was not being completed in a diligent, efficient, timely, workmanlike, skillful and careful manner. The team further determined that it was necessary to invoke the provisions of the Performance Bond, in which the Surety has guaranteed completion of the Project in accordance with the terms of the original contract.

As stated previously, while we recognize the enormous inconvenience this delay has caused, the decision to terminate the contract was a thoughtful one, and we are confident the District took the correct action in proceeding accordingly. Stringent rules and regulations dictated by NY State law -- including the requirement to award the contract to the lowest responsible bidder -- apply to public works projects such as this. When a contractor is terminated, the District must follow an often lengthy legal process. We are in the midst of this process and are working closely with Surety in an effort to ensure the Project is completed in accordance with the original specifications at no additional cost to the District.

While we understand everyone has a right to their “day in court”, it is unfortunate that A-1 has chosen to make sensationalist claims with respect to a matter that is in reality a breach of contract case. The District finds these claims to be baseless and without merit and intends to vigorously defend the District’s interests in the appropriate forum, the Courts.

Photo credit: Mamaroneck School District