The MTA seeks to increase, facilitate and encourage the participation of small businesses, including Minority, Women-Owned and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (M/W/DBEs) by providing a supportive framework for eligible firms to develop and grow within the construction industry and to establish stable, long-term business relationships with the MTA.

The newly established Small Business Mentoring Program (SBMP) is comprised of two tiers;
Mentor (Tier 1) and Graduate Mentor (Tier 2).

Tier 1 – Mentoring Program

The SBMP partners emerging firms with one of the industry's largest construction management/mentoring firms-TDX Construction. The SBMP provides:

  • Pre-qualification
  • Training
  • General business, organizational and professional skills development
  • Construction expertise
  • Access to working capital and bonding
  • Experience working with MTA construction projects ($25,000 to $1,000,000)
  • Fast-track payments

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Tier 2 – Graduate Mentoring Program

Upon successful completion of a four-year mentoring relationship, a company is eligible to complete a two-year advanced program that provides eligibility to bid on projects valued above $1 million. The contracts will be awarded directly without a construction manager's participation in order to prepare the firm to transition to active and independent contract work with the MTA. Firms must obtain their own surety bonding to participate. Assistance, if desired, will be available for those firms wanting to migrate to a union contractor.

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Small Business Mentoring Program - Qualification Requirements

In order to participate in the MTA's SBMP, a firm must meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Be pre-qualified to do business with the MTA:
  2. Provide at least two references for commercial work – valued at no less than $25,000 each – in every trade for which it wishes to be qualified;
  3. Have been in business for at least two years.

Because the program is targeted to the small contracting business community, a firm cannot have:

  • Average annual gross sales more than $3 million in the last three calendar years.
  • Bonding capacity greater than $2 million.

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How Do Firms Get Work?

Once you have received your pre-qualification approval letters, you are eligible for participation in the program. You will be invited to attend an assessment session at which your company's strengths and weaknesses will be identified to customize an improvement plan. Opportunities for bidding on MTA work will be dependent upon the availability of work in the trades for which you qualify.

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Information and Contact Persons

For SBMP criteria or information on how to apply:

  • Please call Aimee Howell at 212-878-4755 or Wayne Cummings at 212-878-4757; or email MTA SBMP: sbmp@mtahq.org

For SBMP training or information on how to apply:

To contact the MTA's SBMP Manager:

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