US News

CITY TILTING CONTRACTS TO MINORITIES, WOMEN

New rules issued by the Bloomberg administration allow minority- and women-owned businesses to circumvent the system for awarding small city contracts — an advantage denied white-owned firms, The Post has learned.

In a memo issued July 15, the mayor’s Office of Contract Services told city agencies they could no longer solicit vendors to bid on small contracts — defined as between $5,000 and $100,000 — unless they’re certified as at least 51 percent minority- or female-owned.

That means that even longtime vendors won’t be able to sell goods and services to the city in that price range if the owner is white, unless they’re fortunate enough to be selected through a random lottery system.

The Post’s Adam Brodsky first reported on some aspects of the policy shift on July 24.

One business owner, who asked to remain anonymous, was dumbfounded that after years of dealing with city agencies, he was abruptly cut off because of his race.

“I was told I can’t bid on city contracts because I’m white,” the owner recalled.

City officials don’t dispute that account.

Marla Simpson, director of the mayor’s contracting office, explained that since 2005, agencies have been required to fill small contracts by allowing a computer to randomly generate 10 potential bidders, five minority and five non-minority.

Some agencies also added favored vendors to the list, using firms with which they had pre-existing relationships.

That’s now been stopped — except if the firms are minority- or women-owned.

“Any additions require my approval,” said Simpson. “I gave blanket approval to the addition of certified M/WBEs [minority and women-owned business enterprises].”

She did that, Simpson added, because a study conducted by the city in 2005 showed that the M/WBEs weren’t getting their fair share of government business, and small contracts provide an opportunity for those firms to “get their foot in the door.”

“The reason it’s both legal and, from a policy standpoint, defensible is it’s a remedy for a situation that was disclosed by the disparity study,” she said.

Simpson also said that the small contracts, which are not advertised, should have been shuffled more than they were.

“I’m sorry that vendor [interviewed by The Post] got into that comfortable position of expecting [a city] agency would add him to every single bid that they had. That was a bad idea from the get-go,” she said.

But the vendor said he is not asking for special treatment — just the right to compete.

“I have no problem if they have 8,000 people bidding, including minorities,” he said.

“My problem is, why am I being restricted? They think they’re helping minorities. My employees are minorities. If I can’t get city contracts, I’m going to have to let some go.”

Although the policy change comes in the middle of the mayoral campaign — in which Mayor Bloomberg’s chief challenger is Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is black — officials insisted the timing was coincidental.

Figures released yesterday show the administration has certified 2,287 M/WBEs as of July 31, double the number two years ago, and they’ve won 15,201 contracts worth $864 million in a span of 2½ years.

david.seifman@nypost.com