NEW YORK—City Council Speaker Christine Quinn introduced a bill Wednesday that would significantly increase the number of contracts awarded to minority- or women-owned businesses.
Under the current law, passed in 2005, the city set a goal for its agencies to award a percentage of the contracts under the $1 million mark to companies owned by women or minority groups. In fiscal year 2011, however, the city met only 48 percent of its goals.
With that said, $1 million is considered by some businesses a small contract.
“Most contracts in the city of New York, the contracts themselves can be millions if not billions of dollars,” said Sandra Wilkin, the owner of Bradford Construction.
The proposed bill would set the same goal for all contracts, not just ones capped at $1 million.
The bill could triple the contracts eligible to minority- and women-owned businesses, from the current $433 million to an estimated $2.2 billion. City agencies would also be required to report progress on meeting minority contract goals to the mayor’s office every quarter.
While the bill was being introduced, minority and women business owners, community leaders, and elected officials held a press conference on the steps of City Hall.
The bill will “unleash the potential that lies in these businesses,” Councilwoman Latisha James said.
Angela Anderson, the president of Square Inch Design, is both a woman and a minority. Her company is a design firm that specializes in interior design and construction management.
“When you’re a small business, there’s so much work that you have to do in order to bid on a job, chase the jobs down, and stay on top of them,” Anderson said. “They have people that they work with, and they don’t like to change from those people.”
“If this bill doesn’t work, we can’t give up,” Councilman Jumaane Williams said. “If these businesses can’t get access, something is wrong.”
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