Mayor Signs Executive Order Supporting Minority and Women Owned Businesses

The City awarded over $3 billion in contracts to minority and women-owned businesses in FY19. The City is On July 28, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Executive Order 59 to increase the City’s utilization of Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (M/WBEs), and also announced numerous programs with the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity that will connect Black and Latinx entrepreneurs to business opportunities.


Comptroller’s Report Reveals COVID-19 Impact on Minority- and Women- Owned Businesses

Eighty-five percent of the survey respondents expect to go out of business within six months. On July 10, 2020, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a comprehensive analysis of the economic hardships minority and women-owned enterprises (M/WBEs) are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the survey findings, Comptroller Stringer announced new accountability measures to ensure the City is meeting its M/WBE goals.


Vornado’s 1,200-foot Penn Plaza tower approved

The City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposed 15 Penn Plaza commercial tower across the street from Penn Station in Manhattan.

Opponents raised concerns about impact on Empire State Building, while the Council focused on Vornado’s participation in Minority- and Womenowned Business Enterprise program. On August 25, 2010, the City Council approved Vornado Realty Trust’s proposal to construct a commercial tower rising approximately 1,200 feet on Seventh Avenue between West 32nd and 33rd Streets in … <Read More>