Imagine A Better Manhattan: Mark Levine’s Plan to Support New York’s M/WBE and Grow an Equitable Economy

Read more from Mark on his M/WBE policy in amNY!

Uplifting New York’s Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) is essential to a strong, equitable economic recovery. Eighty percent of M/WBEs surveyed by the Comptroller’s office say they are struggling to survive due to the pandemic. This struggle is due to several important factors, including inequitable access to City contracts. Manhattan’s– and our City’s– small businesses and home-grown talent are essential to creating jobs and investing in our communities; we must do more to help them keep their doors open and grow.

The principles of the Borough President’s MWBE plan:

1. Borough President will only give capital funding to agencies with robust M/WBE programs: The Borough President allocates significant capital resources every year for important community projects and priorities. To fully capitalize on the economic impact of those dollars, Mark commits to only funding projects proposed by City agencies awarding 30% of contracts to M/WBEs, or that have a robust plan to reach that goal quickly.
2. “Debundle” large Requests for Proposals and contracts: New York City issues contracts worth billions of dollars that include multiple aspects of a large project such as services, construction, and project management. Often, Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for these contracts require broad expertise and vast compliance resources just to apply, let alone secure. Mark will push City agencies to limit contracts to $5 million, allowing for more opportunities for M/WBEs to win prime and sub-prime contracts.
3. Raise the RFP threshold requirement: The City must conduct Requests for Proposals for any contract exceeding $500,000. But the RFP process is complicated, requiring resources, access to capital, and an extraordinary amount of capacity that some M/WBEs may not have. Mark will push the City to raise the threshold that triggers an RFP to $1 million. By increasing the threshold, the City can identify and target M/WBE contractors for City projects without triggering a more cumbersome procurement process.
4. Ensure city transparency and data reporting accuracy on M/WBE contracts: The City’s current data collection process overvalues the number of M/WBE awarded contracts for a given project, conflating the true percentage of work that goes to M/WBEs. Mark knows that without clear and precise data, the City cannot adequately support M/WBEs. As Borough President, Mark will push for data reporting based on the total actually realized amount in each contract, not the expected value. He’ll also advocate for data to include a list of firms that receive prime and sub-prime contracts and the award amount for each. This information will allow the City to see the true impact of inequitable contract disbursement and unfair procurement practices.
5. Create requirements for timely payment & increase access to financing: The City has a long track record of slow reimbursement and payment for contracted services. This delay forces many organizations to secure loans and financing to cover the cost of a project while waiting for the City to disburse funds, resulting in financing fees and interest. M/WBEs tend to shoulder these unexpected costs the most because they often have less access to capital and financing. As Brough President, Mark will introduce legislation mandating timely payment of contracts by the City and push for expanded access to financing and capital on contracts where payments are delayed.