NYC Business Solutions

The “411” on Local Law 1 of 2013

In 2005, Mayor Bloomberg signed Local Law 129. Local Law 129 helped increase the number of minority and women-owned firms (MWBEs) certified to participate in the City’s program from 700 pre-2005 to more than 3,500 since 2005 with certified firms winning more than $3 billion in City contracts.

On January 7, 2013, Mayor Bloomberg took one more step to help strengthen the minority and women-owned business enterprise program by signing Local Law 1. This new law will expand the current program and cover more than 38,000 contracts. That’s more opportunity for M/WBEs.

Contractors: Learn about Rapid Repair

NYC Rapid Repairs is a free program to help residential property owners affected by Hurricane Sandy make emergency repairs. These emergency repairs will allow residents to stay in their homes so that they can complete more permanent repairs and finishes. Emergency repairs include restoration of heat, power and hot water, and other limited repairs to protect a home from further significant damage.

The City has hired general contractors to oversee the repair work for the NYC Rapid Repairs Program.

Small Businesses Join Together to Win Big Government Contracts

by Melissa Hester, Director of the Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) and Vendor Services for NYC Business Solutions

A trend in government contracting, due to shrinking budgets, is contract consolidation – meaning there are fewer contracts but each contract is larger. This can pose a challenge to small businesses, who might not have the capacity to fulfill on a large contract.

Teaming can help.

What is teaming? Basically, teaming is

Certify Your Business: Three Easy Steps

With a few simple steps your business can apply for certification as a Minority and/or Women-owned Business with New York City. Certification can help grow your business by connecting you to exclusive opportunities to sell your products and services to agencies across NYC.

Top Five Reasons to Get Recertified

We’ve made it easier to get certified as a minority or woman–owned business by placing our application online, making it easier to “fast-track” with partnering agencies in the region, and extending the certification time period to five years.