TESTIMONY
Michael Garner, Chief Business Diversity Officer from the Mayor's Office, on Advancing MWBE Goals and Achievements
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8 min
Michael Garner, Chief Business Diversity Officer from the Mayor's Office, outlines significant milestones and future goals under Mayor Adams' administration to support minority and women-owned business enterprises (MWBEs). Garner details a strategy that includes a record-breaking $6 billion awarded to MWBE firms, legislative victories for MWBE improvement, and the largest MWBE contract in city history. He also emphasizes ongoing efforts to address challenges and enhance MWBE participation in city contracting through innovative programs and policies.
Speaker 5
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Yes.
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Good morning.
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And madam chair, Brooks powers in 1.
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Just wanna thank you for allowing us to be here this morning.
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I'm here with my colleagues from both DDC and DOT.
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After spending 14 years at the SCA and 14 years at the MCA, 2 of the most complicated organizations, construction organizations in this country, we set records with dollars paid to both SEA certified MWD Firms and and state certified MWD Firms.
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And so when a mayor brought me on, we agreed that we were going to focus on solutions and not be blinded by problems.
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And so I can tell you that the Adams administration in the city of New York, the Adams administration in the city council, members of this esteem body, we share the same focus and the same goal.
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That goal is under mayor Adams, he has made a note that by the year 2026, not less than $25,000,000,000 will be awarded to minority owned businesses.
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And by the year 2030, not less than 60,000,000,000 will be awarded to city certified M and WBE Firms.
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Let me just say also that we operate our program within the current federal law.
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And we have a goal program and our goal is to achieve those goals.
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Let me also say that we have focused on m w b achievement.
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We for the first time in history, mayor Adams was responsible for getting all of his MWA goes past up in Albany, and they were signed in the state law by Governor Kathy Hochol.
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We're going to use aggressive MWB programming that exists at the SCA and at the MCA in order to drive MWD operating efficiencies.
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I would say also that last year we were able to award $6,000,000,000 to MWB Firms, which included those local law and 1 NDYC of Firms that's that's certified by the city of New York.
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There it was more than 1900 individual transactions for 6,000,000,000.
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We are well on our way to achieving the mayor's goal of 25,000,000,000 by the year 2026 2 straight years of record MWD contracts with local law 1 city agencies FY23 saw a record of $1,400,000,000 in contracts.
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2nd straight year of FY23 of over $6,000,000,000 as I indicated with 1 NYSE.
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Record time 28% MWA inclusion rate, also a record year of agency using the availability of discretionary authority.
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Using this discretionary authority, it was a $170,000,000, which was awarded.
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That was an increase of 60% from FY 2022 to 2023, from 112,000,000 to 170,000,000.
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And the largest award in the in the history of the city and the New York's program went to a black owned and city certified MWD firm $372,000,000 contract to worldwide technology.
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However, we recognize that there are still major challenges to be addressed.
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And so as a result of driving MWD spend, mayor Adams has mandated that we have weekly MWE, Comstead type meetings with all of the agencies.
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Those meetings take place every Monday at at 3 at 3 o'clock.
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We also have weekly asylum seekers contract meetings, whereas we are we will be announcing in a very, very short period of time.
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That the city of New York has awarded more than $1,000,000,000 to MWA's and securing the services for our asylum seekers and migrants.
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That is a result of our weekly meetings that we have every week right here at city hall.
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Let me also say that we have expanded the use of citywide MWE prequalified list.
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Last year, as I indicated, that we focus our priorities at the state of New York.
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Once again, Mara Adams was responsible for for gaining approval for all of his MWA bills of Ghosn's that were passed and signed into state law.
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1 of those laws that we are currently focusing on on creating a city wide centralized construction mentoring program.
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Those programs currently exist both at the SCA and at the MCA.
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And we will have the ability to award prime construction contracts to our MWA contractors, prime contracts, We will also pay those contractors in 10 days upon the accurate submission of their invoices.
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Since 1993, the the SEA has awarded more than $4,000,000,000 in contracts in their program.
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In addition to the MTA where almost $1,000,000,000 of contracts has been awarded since their program was created in the year 2012.
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Once the city of New York's construction mentor program has been implemented, it would it would become the largest construction mentoring program of his kind in the nation.
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Let me also say that we, in increase the discretionary threshold from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000.
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What that does is that it allows the agencies to go into the marketplace secure prices from 2 or 3 or 4 New York City certified M and WBE Firms and make the award right there in the spot.
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As long as that pricing is aligned with historical pricing and make the award right there on the spot without going out for broader bidding.
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One of the most resistant, various entry that we experience here in this city, in New York, and across the nation.
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Is the inability of our smaller contractors to ascertain cost effective construction insurance.
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And so one of the bills that the mayor was successful in getting is we are going to create a owner's control and insurance program which will allow us to extend cost effective construction insurance to our small MWA contractors.
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Those were some of the legislative victories that we have achieved in Albany last session.
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We we also would like to thank the mayor's capital process reform task force who brought a lot of best practices to us, including these MWA bills as well.
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So as I started I'm gonna finish by saying that mayor Adams and speaker Adams both have the same goals in mind.
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And that's maximizing MWE outcomes to New York City certified MWE Firms.
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Being in line with awarding not less than 25,000,000,000 by 2026, 60,000,000,000 by 2030, focusing on solutions and not being reminded by problems.
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Thank you.