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HISPANICVOICENew York's Largest Spanish Weekly NewspaperOfficial Newspaper of the NYC Hispanic Chamber of CommerceBY ALEXANDER LÓPEZalopez@caribbeanbusiness.prAt the EconomicDevelopment SummitConference betweenPuerto Rico and NewYork, a three-day event that tookplace March 29-31 in Manhattan,dozens of Puerto Rico and NewYork companies met fornetworking and to participate intraining sessions on how toobtain minority certification.“This will be an extraordinaryopportunity to expandyour business to New York,where billions of dollars’ worthof contracts aren put out to bid byfederal, state and city agenciesevery year,” said José RamónPérez-Riera, secretary of thePuerto Rico EconomicDevelopment & CommerceDepartment (DDEC by itsSpanish acronym), to the 84people representing more than 45participating companies fromPuerto Rico.The event, the brainchild ofthe DDEC, provided a uniquebusiness development opportunityfor New York Stateminority- and women ownedcompanies, along with otherdisadvantaged business owners,to partner with Puerto Ricocompanies and professionals toobtain lucrative governmentcontracts at the federal, state andlocal level, and help build NewYork.The idea was so unique that itwas backed by the White House,as well as the governors of NewYork State and Puerto Rico. Itmarked the first time in historysuch a collaborative effort hasbeen undertaken between twoU.S. jurisdictions.“Today’s conference is justanother example of how NewYork State and the MTA[Metropolitan TransportationAuthority] are working creativelyon ways for minorities, womenThe idea was so unique that it wasbacked by the White House, aswell as the governors of NewYork State and Puerto Rico. Itmarked the first time inhistory such a collaborativeeffort has been undertakenbetween two U.S. jurisdictions.UP AND RUNNINGNY-Puerto Rico summit gets historicbusiness alliance moving forwardowned businesses [MBWEs] anddisadvantaged business enterprisesto participate in thebillions of dollars in contracts putout by our agencies,” said NuriaFernández, MTA chief operatingofficer. “Our efforts are wellaligned with Gov. [Andrew]Cuomo’s goal of increasingcontract awards to New YorkState MBWEs to 20%.”The following organizationswere represented at the conferencesponsored by the MTA andDDEC:The White House BusinessCouncil, New York City HispanicChamber of Commerce, NewYork Statewide Coalition ofNick Lugo and others guests.Hispanic Chambers ofCommerce, Minority BusinessLeadership Council, New YorkState Association of MinorityContractors and Women BuildersCouncil.The summit brought together45 firms from Puerto Rico anddozens of New York-basedminority fi rms. In addition,presentations by representativesnof the federal and New Yorkgovernment agencies outlined thecertification process andhighlighted the many opportunitiesavailable for contracts withtheir organizations.The federal and New YorkState agencies that made presentationsto the minority firmsoutlining the type of projects andneeds they put out for bid on aconstant basis were: theMetropolitan TransportationAuthority (MTA), Empire StateDevelopment Corp. (ESD), NewYork State Thruway Authority(NYSTA), New York StateDepartment of Transportation,Dormitory Authority of the Stateof New York (DASNY), PortsAuthority of New York and NewJersey, State University of NewYork and SUNY ConstructionFund, Empire State DevelopmentCorp. (ESDC), U.S. GeneralServices Administration (GSA),U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,New York State Homes &Community Renewal, and NewYork State Office of GeneralServices.“This conference isn’t a oneortwo-day story; it will be atrend throughout the future,”noted Denise L. Pease, regionaladministrator for the Northeast &Caribbean Region of the GSA.PARTNERSIN OPPORTUNITYThe local New York firmswill be the eyes and ears on theground in New York and inpartnership with Puerto Rico13LA VOZ HISPANA • N.Y. DEL 19 AL 24 DE ABRIL DEL 2012 • http://www.lavozhispanany.com