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New York City gets D+ on M/WBE contracting

At the end of October, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer announced that minority and women-owned businesses (M/WBEs) were awarded a smaller share of City procurement contracts in the 2016 fiscal year than in the 2015 fiscal year.

The percentage of M/WBEs involved in City procurement went from 5.3 percent to 4.8 percent, earning the City a letter grade of D+ from the Comptroller for its performance. Last year Stringer gave the city a flat D.

"As much as we talk about moving forward, this report demonstrates that at least for the last fiscal year, we moved backwards and have a long way to go," Comptroller Stringer said. "Government needs to lead by example, but it's clear that when it comes to securing City contracts, our minority and women-owned businesses still aren't getting a fair shot. By shining a spotlight on this issue, today's report gives us another chance to focus on getting this right. This isn't about blame, but instead about inducing change."

This decrease in the percentage of M/WBE involvement occurred in spite of a rise in the amount of overall contracting.

The report also states that while there 4,527 certified M/WBEs that the City can do business with, over 3,500 of those businesses received no City contracts during the 2016 fiscal year.

Those 4,527 certified firms, additionally, represent less than 1 percent of the almost one million minority and women-owned businesses in New York City. The report notes that City contracting is a valuable avenue for decreasing unemployment overall, which is disproportionately higher than average for people of color.

Stringer made a series of recommendations to the City for improving its M/WBE participation. Foremost among these is changing the existing M/WBE program to provide more thorough mentorship, pre-qualification for M/WBEs within certain circumstances, and ensuring prompt payment to M/WBEs.

Other recommendations included the hiring of a Chief Diversity Officer and streamlining the certification process.