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Concerns raised about MWBE certification authenticity
1:23:31
ยท
47 sec
Council Member Julie Won expresses serious concerns about the authenticity of MWBE (Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise) certifications in New York City and State contracting. She highlights potential discrepancies between registered MWBE owners and actual business operations.
- Won cites a specific example of Riviera, where the business appeared to be run by two white men despite MWBE certification.
- Raymond Medina advises that such concerns should be directed to the Department of Small Business Services for investigation.
- The discussion underscores the need for rigorous verification of MWBE certifications to ensure program integrity.
Julie Won
1:23:31
Okay.
1:23:32
Because my team just alerted me that, and I know that my colleagues also agree, we have a serious issue with MWBE contracting in the City Of New York and in the New York state, where we have to check to make sure that whoever is registered as the owner of this MWBE actually is working in that MWBE.
1:23:53
Because for example, we just met with Riviera, and then it was clear to my team that it was two white men running the business, but it was not clear how there was a woman or a minority who had executive control over this business.
Raymond Medina
1:24:07
So I would just say and not to to go out of my lane here, if there are any concerns along those lines, this should certainly be directed to the Department of Small Business Services immediately for them to conduct the appropriate investigation.
Julie Won
1:24:19
Do for all of the ones that we have been alerted about.