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Compliance review: 36 projects, modest progress on local hires and MWBE contracting; apprenticeship hours fall short
Summary
An external consultant presented the annual Economic Opportunity and Non‑Discrimination Policy compliance report: 36 development projects were reviewed, post‑construction hiring of New Rochelle residents rose, MWBE contracting showed some gains, but apprenticeship hours met only about 10% of the target.
An external compliance review for the City of New Rochelle’s Economic Opportunity and Non‑Discrimination Policy found mixed results across 36 projects receiving public economic benefits, with gains in post‑construction local hiring and MWBE contracting but a shortfall in apprenticeship hours during construction.
Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP presented the annual report to the Corporation for Local Development (CLD) on May 28. The consultant and staff emphasized that developers have been more responsive with reporting and that quarterly submissions are improving oversight, but both the city and consultants said additional steps are needed to meet apprenticeship and targeted‑worker goals.
Key findings - Project count and status: Consultants reviewed 36 projects. At year end, 69% were in post‑construction and 14% were in active construction. - Construction hours and targeted worker participation: Developers reported roughly 741,000 construction hours in 2024. Targeted workers (those referred through the city’s First Source Referral Center) performed about 50,000 of those hours—about 6.9% of construction hours—with 72 individuals explicitly recorded as targeted workers; an expanded review showed 88 individuals had passed through the center and later worked on projects. - Apprenticeship shortfall: For projects that exceeded the policy’s construction threshold (1,000 apprentice hours required per 20,000 construction hours), the consultant calculated an expected 36,784 apprentice hours; actual reported apprentice hours were 3,724—about 10% of the expected total. - Local hire and contracting: In non‑construction (post‑construction) work, the report found about 511,000 non‑construction hours and 37,000 targeted hours. Some 270 New Rochelle residents worked in post‑construction roles (about 38% of non‑construction workers). During construction, 30 prime contracts were awarded in 2024; five went to New Rochelle businesses (17%). Total reported construction contract awards were about $164 million, of which $10.02 million (6%) went to New Rochelle businesses. Post‑construction service contracts totaled about $12 million, with $1.29 million (11%) to New Rochelle businesses. - MWBE contracting: During construction, 169 contracts were reported and 41 of those (24%) were to firms identified by developers as MWBE (the city’s policy allows developer self‑identification as M or W beyond state certification). For post‑construction service contracts, 98 of 497 contracts (about 20%) were to MWBE firms.
Consultant recommendations and next steps Anchin, Block & Anchin recommended maintaining quarterly reporting, expanding outreach and training through New Rochelle Forward and the city’s First Source Referral Center, and leveraging the city’s TuffLeaf supplier platform to connect local and MWBE firms with contracting opportunities. Consultants and staff also noted that changes to the city’s Uniform Tax Exemption Policy (UTEP), which added a social equity requirement for newer pilots (including a 15% target for certain elements), give the city stronger enforcement tools for projects that close under the revised policy.
Board members and staff discussed enforcement options, including documenting developers’ “good faith efforts,” exploring monthly reporting or stronger contractual penalties for noncompliance, using the UTEP’s enforcement mechanisms for newer pilots and offering more proactive outreach to help local firms meet contract requirements. Staff said they will provide the board with the developers’ annual reports (the underlying submissions are maintained in a secure file system) and continue to request quarterly updates to track progress.
What the city will do next Staff and consultants will continue quarterly monitoring, produce the full set of annual reports for board review, and coordinate presentations from TuffLeaf and New Rochelle Forward to help connect local contractors and jobseekers with the pipeline of opportunities. For projects that closed under the UTEP’s social‑equity language, staff said enforcement mechanisms (including financial penalties for noncompliance) are available and will be applied as appropriate.
The CLD thanked the consultant for the analysis and directed staff to continue improving quarterly monitoring and outreach to boost apprenticeship, targeted worker placement and local contracting.
