MTA - Opening Doors for Small Business

[East New York]

- The MTA's new Small Business Mentoring Program will exceed its first-year targets by awarding $14 million in contracts to small businesses, with nine of the first thirteen contracts awarded to New York State-certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises.

 

Legislation passed in Albany last year required at least $10 million in contracts be awarded in the first year.

 

The MTA's Department of Diversity and Civil Rights recently established the Small Business Mentoring Program to provide a supportive framework for eligible firms to develop and grow within the construction industry and to establish stable, long-term business relationships with the MTA.

 

"We are starting to see tangible results from our efforts to increase contract awards to minority-owned and women-owned firms and disadvantaged small businesses," said MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder. "Make no mistake, the effort we are putting forth here is just as important as any area where we are overhauling how the MTA does business, and our success will have a long-term beneficial effect in New York State."

 

The awards are a result of targeted, proactive outreach to small businesses that had not previously done business with the MTA. The program includes the implementation of a successful construction training program for participating firms. As a result, the MTA was able to increase the number of participants in the New York 12-county region. One hundred and four firms have been prequalified for the program since September 2010. In addition to exceeding the first year commitment, the program has already achieved some noteworthy successes improving business practices by paying contractors within five business days from submittal of a complete requisition, and awarding contracts within ten business days of bid openings.

 

 

Read more here.