Minority-Contractor Hiring Lags

As New Haven prepares to renew a law aimed at helping minority- and women-owned contractors, newly released data show that it has fallen short of its goals — especially when city-funded construction work boomed in 2019.

Those details emerge from a review of three years’ worth of data on construction and construction-related spending by the City of New Haven.

The Independent obtained via a Connecticut Freedom of Information Act request month-by-month reports that document every dollar spent by the city between January 2017 and December 2019 on publicly-funded construction, building, and maintenance primary contracts.

Those projects range from street paving to sidewalk repairs, from on-call painting to electrical fixes at Ralph Walker rink, from public school custodial work to roof replacement at the Whitney Avenue fire station.

They cover only primary contract awards funded by the city, and do not include subcontracting awards for city projects.

The Board of Alders is scheduled to vote next month on a five-year renewal of a revamped version of the law that governs the city’s small‑, minority-owned, and women-owned contractor program. These reports shine a light on how city spending currently stacks up against its small contractor hiring goals.

It also underscores a critique that local small minority contractors have been amplifying in recent weeks about the relative dearth of work going to communities of color, particularly in the context of subcontracting work for the Q House construction site. 

Another takeaway: ​“women-owned businesses” might not always be truly women-owned businesses.

“We Can’t Force People To Bid”

The newly released reports show that the city spent $26.4 million in 2017, $20.1 million in 2018, and $54.8 million in 2019 on publicly-funded construction and construction-related work.

In the most recent calendar year, which saw city construction and construction-related spending double in comparison to each of the two prior years, minority business enterprises (MBE) took home 11.99 percent ($6.5 million) and women business enterprises (WBE) took home 4.85 percent ($2.6 million) of the total city spend.

Chapter 12 ¼ of the New Haven Code of Ordinances, which governs the city’s Small Contractor Development (SCD) program, sets city spending goals of at least 10 percent of primary contracts awarded to African American-owned businesses and at least 2.5 percent awarded to Hispanic American-owned businesses, for a combined goal of 12.5 percent of primary contracts awarded to minority-owned businesses. The ordinance also sets a primary contract spending goal of 11 percent for women-owned businesses.

The city did meet those goals in 2018 for MBEs (which took home 34 percent of that year’s city-funded primary contracts) and for WBEs (26.9 percent). It failed to reach those goals in 2017 (7.4 percent for MBEs and 6.6 percent for WBEs) as well as in the banner year of 2019.

The reports also show that 60.75 percent ($33.3 million) of last year’s city construction and construction-related contracts went to New Haven-based businesses. The rest went to businesses based elsewhere in the county.

That number is close to the local share of work in 2018 (67. 6 percent / $13 million) and 2017 (65.2 percent / $17 million).

Lil Snyder, who runs the city’s small contractor program, emphasized that these are public bids that contractors have to apply for if they want to win city-funded primary construction contracts and dollars.

“This is public money,” she said, ​“and everything has to be bid. You come in, you leave a notice, and you have to go through the public bid process. If you’re the low bidder, then you get it. That’s the law.”

She said that there are relatively few New Haven-based minority contractors to pick from, with only around 21 New Haven-based African American-owned small business contractors registered with the state Department of Administrative Services.

“We can’t force people to bid,” she said.

Snyder also argued that it would be a bit of a misrepresentation to argue that minority-owned and women-owned contractors missed out on the construction boom of 2019 just based on an analysis of these reports.

She said that the city spending tracked by her office covers just that: city spending. It does not keep track of the wealth of private construction that took place throughout the city and the state last year which her office has no control or leverage over.

“If you look at 2019, the construction industry was very active,” she said. ​“People were working and bidding all over the marketplace.”

City-funded work makes up only a small percentage of the total construction work out there, she said.

“We work very hard to encourage local minority businesses to come out and become interested in bidding,” she said. ​“But overall, we don’t have a lot of work. In the grand scheme of things, a contractor could not survive on city work alone.”

Snyder also pointed out that 2019 was such a big year for city construction contracts in large part because of a single, exceptional project — the construction of the new Q House. Branford-based primary contractor A. Secondino & Sons won that $16 million-plus bid.

“Black Businesses Matter”

Dixwell-based small business contractor Rodney Williams (pictured at right) sees this data a bit differently — as a justification of the critique he and fellow local minority contractors have gone public with in recent weeks, specifically around low black and brown hiring at the Q House construction site.

“At the end of the day, black businesses matter,” he said. ​“This needs to change.”

He drilled down on the city’s primary contractor spending in 2019 as illustrative of the problem he sees with the SCD program as it currently exists.

He pointed out that roughly $6.5 million of the city’s total $54.8 million of primary contract spending in 2019 went to minority-owned businesses.

That number drops to $5.6 million when looking at minority-owned businesses that are based out of New Haven city proper, as opposed to the county as a whole.

And of that $5.6 million in city spending on local minority contractor work last year, over $4.6 million — roughly 80 percent — went to a single contract between Shafiq Abdussabur’s Eco-Urban Pioneers LLC and the city public school system. That contract was for custodial services at public school buildings, and included part-time labor force and management supervision.

That leaves roughly $1 million that went to 12 other local African American and Hispanic-owned contractors for city projects in 2019.

“That’s embarrassing,” Williams said.

Williams stressed that alders and city officials need to bring local minority and women contractors to the table.

“If they’re really trying to make a change, they’ve got my number,” he said.

Snyder said that the Eco-Urban Pioneers custodial contract was an open, public bid just like any other that the city did. She pointed out that the city’s SCD program covers both construction and construction-related work, such as custodial maintenance.

“Women-Owned?”

The three years’ worth of city-awarded primary construction contracts also reveal a generous interpretation of what qualifies as a “women-owned business.”

Some of the WBEs that have received the most primary contractor work from the city in recent years include Laydon Industries and Lior Excavating.

The Secretary of the State’s business registry website lists Jeffrey Laydon as the president of Laydon Industries and Kristy Laydon as vice-president.

While the Secretary of the State’s website lists Perla Israel as the principal of Lior Excavating, Lior Israel’s name abounds on the company’s website and in other online searches for work done by that local construction contractor.

Snyder said that the state certifies small, minority-, and women-owned business. “Those certifications are a result of audits that the state does to verify that the companies are what they claim,” she said. Once the state certifies a business as such, Snyder said, the city must recognize it that way.

The city’s 12 ¼ ordinance defines women business enterprises as “a small contractor with at least fifty-one (51) percent ownership by one or more women who: (1) Exercises operational authority over daily affairs of the business; (2) Has the power to direct the management and policies and receive the beneficial interests of the business; (3) Possess managerial and technical competence and experience directly related to the principal business activities of the enterprise.”

City-Funded Primary Contracts, 2017-2019

Below is a list of every company that has received a primary construction or construction-related contract award from the city between 2017 and 2019, sorted from high to low based on aggregate worth of the contract(s).

Businesses that are New Haven-based have “NH” in parentheses next to their names. Minority-owned businesses have “MBE” next to their names. And women-owned businesses have “WBE” next to their names.

C J FUCCI CONSTRUCTION INC (NH): $19,266,695
A. SECONDINO & SONS, INC: $16,697,000
CONCRETE CREATIONS, LLC (NH): $16,443,637
ECO-URBAN PIONEERS, LLC (NH, MBE): $9,190,343
LAYDON INDUSTRIES, LLC (NH, WBE): $4,371,167
THE URBAN RESOURCES INITIATIVE (NH, WBE): $2,634,912
BLAST ALL, INC.: $2,056,475
DUCCI ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS INC.: $1,862,000
MC VAC ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES INC. (NH): $1,821,880
WHITE OWL CONSTRUCTION, LLC (NH, MBE): $1,472,163
TERRY CONTRACTING & MATERIALS, INC.: $1,251,474
LIOR EXCAVATING LLC (NH, WBE): $1,096,632
WILLIAM M. LAYDON CONSTRUCTION, LLC (NH): $983,687
RESOURCE SERVICE, LLC: $895,280
TIM’S ENTERPRISES, LLC (MBE): $849,628
RMS GOLD STREET LLC: $819,251
JEFFREY WILHITE (NH, MBE): $652,707
BEULAH LAND DEVELOPMENT CORP (NH, MBE): $636,078
TUCKER MECHANICAL, AN EMCOR COMPANY: $589,945
CAREY’S HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING , INC: $565,680
MALANGONE MECHANICAL, LLC (WBE): $563,890
TRI STATE MAINTENANCE SERVICES LLC: $550,635
MARCO A. ZANETTE (MBE): $532,550
BG MECHANICAL SERVICE, INC: $528,375
M E O’BRIEN & SONS, INC: $523,550
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS (NH): $500,000
RMS DOWNTOWN SOUTH-HILL NORTH DEVELOPMENT: $500,000
CONNECTICUT CONTROLS CORP.: $495,000
NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING SERV. INC (NH): $469,201
MONICA CALDWELL D/B/A CCNE (NH, MBE, WBE): $403,173
DUCT CLEAN CORP: $381,343
ENCORE HOLDINGS LLC: $367,500
GUILFORD FENCE WORKS, INC.: $356,508
KONE, INC. 6082: $355,846
UTILITY COMMUNICATIONS INC: $340,972
ST. LUKE’S DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (NH): $340,000
EAGLE RIVET ROOF SERVICES CORPORATION: $325,000
PASQUARIELLO ELECTRIC CORPORATION (NH): $323,903
EAST SHORE GLASS INC. (NH, WBE): $305,334
ATLANTIC EQUIPMENTINSTALLERS INC.: $296,258
AAIS CORP: $287,983
CONSOLIDATED ELECTRIC INC (NH): $285,631
SUMMIT SECURITY SERVICES, INC.: $282,797
ABCON ABATEMENT AND DEMOLITION, LLC (NH): $253,777
RELIABLE REFRIGERATION PLUS,INC (MBE): $247,214
ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS CORP.: $232,766
SAFETY MARKING, INC.: $227,527
GOLD SEAL ROOFING AND SHEETMETAL, INC.: $224,400
GREGORY D. BOISVERT: $200,000
MAIN ENTERPRISES INC.: $200,000
N.E.S.A.I.M., LLC (NH, MBE): $199,875
GARRITY ASPHALT RECLAIMING, INC.: $185,000
COHEN’S KEY SHOP INC (NH): $177,445
NEW HAVEN GLASS & MIRROR COMPANY, LLC (NH): $173,603
PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES (NH): $170,456
SUNDERLAND ELECTRIC LLC (NH): $160,533
BISHRAM SINGH (NH, MBE): $158,132
ENVIROMED SERVICES: $151,010
CONNECTICUT PEST ELIMINATION INC. (NH): $144,014
LUIS SANTANA (NH, MBE): $139,354
SCHOLAR PAINTING LLC (MBE): $134,280
COREY NEWTON (NH, MBE): $129,110
RED THREAD SPACES, LLC: $122,070
CLEARWATER INDUSTRIES INC.: $120,000
HEWITT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, LLC (NH, MBE): $117,000
GREENWAY PROPERTY SERVICES INC: $110,000
SHORELINE RESTORATION, LLC (WBE): $109,026
ASPLUNDH TREE EXPERT COMPANY, INC.: $105,000
AUDUBON ENVIRONMENTAL INC: $103,755
G.L. CAPASSO, INC (NH): $102,260
BELIEVE IN ME ENPOWERMENT CORP (NH): $102,143
SPRING CITY ELECTRICAL MFG. CO.: $99,750
NEW HAVEN PLAZA LLC (NH): $95,664
BOISVERT PLUMBING, LLC: $94,294
MOHAWK NORTHEAST INC: $91,143
TITAN ENTERPRISES, INC (MBE, WBE): $87,865
TOTAL LIGHTING SERVICE, LLC (MBE): $86,660
TOTAL FENCE, LLC (NH): $84,956
FAIR HAVEN COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC INC.: $80,000
ANDRAY GOLDING (MBE): $77,610
COYLE LANDSCAPING, LLC: $75,000
HARVEST NEW ENGLAND, LLC: $71,275
NEW HAVEN ABATEMENT, LLC W.B.E, AS, SBE (NH, WBE): $69,640
FRANZE FLOORING LLC: $68,804
HABITAT FOR HUMANITY INC OF GREATER (NH): $65,000
CERILLI CONSTRUCTION, LLC: $63,250
PAUL SKERRITT (NH, WBE): $62,600
JOHN RIGA: $62,460
ZENA BARNES: $60,000
GUIDLINES LLC: $60,000
EAGLE RIVET ROOF SERVICES INC.: $60,000
HILLYARD INC: $57,690
WILLIAM JACKSON (NH, MBE): $56,200
PROMOCO: $51,668
FOUR STAR MOVERS INC.: $50,000
GREGORY R. MACMILLEN: $50,000
L & D SIGNS AND GRAPICS d/b/a: $50,000
SPORTS CONSTRUCTION & SUPPLY LLC: $50,000
THE JOHN BOYLE COMPANY, INC.: $50,000
GIUSEPPE CAPASSO (NH): $49,000
THE MARY WADE HOME (NH): $46,150
MDW ABATEMENT SERVICES LLC: $43,124
OLIVER PAINTING & CONSTRUCTION, LLC (MBE): $41,531
COLUMBUS HOUSE, INC. (NH): $40,000
CORNELL-SCOTT HILL HEALTH CORPORATION (NH): $40,000
ST BERNADETTE’S CHURCH CORP. (NH): $35,231
B & G RESTAURANT SUPPLY: $35,075
GENEXO ASSOCIATES, LLC (MBE): $33,600
HENRY SCHEIN, INC: $31,000
NPOWER CONSTRUCTION & ELECTRICAL, LLC: $30,280
CISCO, LLC (NH, WBE): $30,000
TRI-LIFT, INC. (NH): $30,000
WILLIAMS STONE CO INC: $29,803
MARRAKECH, INC.: $29,700
PARKEON, INC: $29,060
WINTERBERRY IRRIGATION, LLC: $28,942
BECKY ATLURU: $27,984
CONNY, INC (NH, MBE): $27,940
DON’S LANDSCAPING & TREE SER., LLC: $26,450
SELECT FENCE & GUARDRAIL, LLC (NH, WBE): $25,000
COMMUNITY SOUP KITCHEN (NH): $25,000
PALMA LANDSCAPING (MBE): $25,000
TRASSIG CORPORATION: $25,000
NEW HAVEN LAND TRUST INC.: $25,000
SANITARY EQUIPMENT CO INC: $25,000
AMERICAN IRON WORKS, LLC (NH): $22,600
HANNAH GRAY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (NH): $21,072
HORTON, LLC: $20,000
CRAWFORD DOOR OF STRATFORD INC.: $19,734
COMMERCIAL FLOORING CONCEPTS, INC: $19,496
PROPRIETORS OF THE GREEN C/O NEW HAVEN MUSEUM (NH): $18,750
RUOTOLO MECHANICAL, INC. (NH, MBE): $18,250
TF ELECTRIC INC. (NH, WBE): $16,469
SIGN LITE INC (WBE): $16,350
MILLICENT BOWENS (WBE): $15,900
MAPLE CARPENTRY & GENERAL CONTRACTING, LLC (NH, MBE): $14,680
REXEL INC.: $14,107
FRANKSON FENCE CO: $13,564
AMERICA ONE ABATEMENT, INC. (NH): $11,800
THADDEUS M. STEWART (MBE): $11,700
CROMWELL CONCRETE PRODUCTS,INC: $10,845
THE GARAGE DOOR GUYS (NH): $10,800
MICHAEL BARAN: $10,650
DGJ ELECTRICAL LLC (NH, MBE): $10,500
MALANGONE ELECTRIC (WBE): $10,100
INTERSTATE BILLING SERVICE, INC: $10,000
M & O CORPORATION: $10,000
EAST COAST SIGN & SUPPLY: $9,990
CITY POLICY ASSOCIATES LLC: $9,600
MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS, INC.: $9,600
COMFORT THERAPEUTICS, LLC (NH): $9,473
DONNEGAN SYSTEMS, INC.: $9,360
INTEGRATED BUILDING SERVICES, LLC: $9,275
BUCKLEY ASSOCIATES,INC: $9,200
ATELIER TEN USA, LLC: $9,000
SCHMIDT’S & SERAFINE’S, INC.: $9,000
CENTURY SIGN: $8,802
CUSTOM PRODUCTS CORPORATION: $8,798
KENTEA HOBBY (NH): $8,288
MARTURANO RECREATION CO.: $7,869
AUTOMATIC DOOR DOCTOR, LLC: $7,835
GEORGE ARNAOUTIS: $7,650
HARLEM RIVER HOUNDS, INC.: $7,525
ALADDIN ALUMINUM INC.: $7,500
ATLANTIC IRRIGATION SPECIALTIES, INC.: $7,000
DONNA COLLUCCI MALLOY: $6,850
MPQ CONSTRUCTION, LLC (MBE): $6,720
SITE, LLC: $6,500
MATTHEW M. COREY: $6,200
JOSEPH TIMOTHY DAVIS, SR. & (NH): $6,174
D.F. MCDERMOTT CO. LLC: $6,130
MR. PATRICE MEDOR (MBE): $6,000
HOME SERVICES & MORE, LLC: $5,596
BPD ROOF CONSULTING: $5,515
SUPERIOR MECHANICAL SYSTEMS, INC.: $5,269
MARCUS HAWKINS: $5,210
F.J. TURNER COMPANY, INC: $5,052
ELI O. FLETCHER (NH, MBE): $4,972
RICHARD S. MURGO: $4,950
INTEGRATED TECHNICAL SYSTEMS, INC: $4,757
EMERGE CONNECTICUT INC (NH, MBE): $4,560
HB COMMUNICATIONS INC.: $4,356
KTM ELECTRICAL CONSTRUCTION, LLC: $3,950
OVERHEAD DOOR COMPANY OF HARTFORD , INC (NH): $3,750
J & J PALLO HOME IMPROVEMENT,  LLC (NH, MBE): $3,639
ANASTASIO CARTING LLC (NH): $3,600
SOLARCITY CORPORATION: $3,600
BL COMPANIES, INC.: $3,437
MECHANICAL AIR SYSTEMS INC: $3,250
FASTENAL COMPANY: $3,200
VINCENT RUOTOLO SR.: $3,100
INNOVATIVE INTERFACES INC.: $3,000
KINSLEY EQUIPMENT COMPANY INC.: $3,000
PAR-KUT INTERNATIONAL, iNC.: $3,000
VALLEY GREEN, INC: $3,000
ZBIGNIEW JAN WOJAS: $3,000
ORKIN EXTERMINATING CO. INC.: $2,930
STANLEY CONVERGENT SECURITY SOLUTIONS: $2,900
THE CARE OF TREES INC.: $2,880
MAGNAKLEEN: $2,800
UNGERS FLOOR COVERING INC (NH): $2,672
R.P.M. INC.: $2,500
FLOW TECH, INC.: $2,300
DEMCO INC.: $2,160
AMERICAN FLOOR MATS: $2,040
ELECTRICAL SERVICES GROUP LLC (NH, MBE): $1,880
CALVERT SAFE & LOCK: $1,820
SUPERTECH INC: $1,500
LUIGY’S SEPTIC SERVICE, LLC: $1,494
AMATO’S LAWNCARE INC: $1,400
JAKE THE SNAKE PIPE&DRAIN CLEANING SERVI (NH, MBE): $1,285
GZA GEOENVIRONMENTAL INC: $1,250
AMERICAN ROOTER, LLC: $1,250
HOME DEPOT COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT: $1,244
DIVERSIFIED TECHNOLOGY CONSULTANTS, INC. (MBE, WBE): $1,141
HELMUT V PAZMINO: $1,082
ANTHONY PETRUZZELLI: $1,080
VERAB GREENHOUSES, LLC: $1,060
AMITY SAFE AND LOCK INC. (NH): $1,013
ADT US HOLDINGS, INC: $1,000
YALE TERMITE & PEST ELIMINATION: $960
TORRINGTON SUPPLY COMPANY, INC.: $747
JASON DORSEY (NH, MBE): $740
FLAGMAN OF AMERICA: $700
STANLEY STEEMER: $515
REC THREAD SPACES, LLC: $515
JAC TECHNOLOGIES INC.: $500
ROBERT APUZZO: $500
W.B. MASON COMPANY, INC.: $400
W.W. GRAINGER, INC.: $297
ELM CITY OVERHEAD DOOR: $272
RnB ENTERPRISES INC.: $269
BENDER PLUMBING SUPPLIES INC. (NH): $264
EASTERN FIRE DOOR CO INC (NH): $186
F.W. WEBB CO.: $159
US ELECTRICAL SERVICES ,INC.: $144
TILE BRITE, LLC: $80
CARRIER ENTERPRISE NORTHEAST LLC: $73
GOODY’S HARDWARE: $29
THE SHERWIN WILLIAMS COMPANY: $14