American Alliance for Equal Rights Sues New York City Over Race- and Sex-Based Contracting Program

American Alliance for Equal Rights v. Zohran Mamdani, et. al.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the American Alliance for Equal Rights (AAER) filed a federal lawsuit against the City of New York. The suit challenges the City's Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (M/WBE) certification program which gives public contracting advantages based on the race and sex of a business's owners.

The complaint is attached.

The defendants are Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the City of New York, the Department of Small Business Services and Commissioner Kenny Minaya, and the New York City Department of Education and Chancellor Kamar H. Samuels. The lawsuit alleges that the program violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 U.S.C. §1981, which guarantees all persons the same right to make and enforce contracts regardless of race.

The complaint notes that the City tells prospective vendors that it spends up to $17 billion a year on goods and services, and that M/WBE certification will "help you compete for these opportunities."

Certification is open only to businesses that are at least 51 percent owned, operated and controlled by women or by members of five designated groups: black, Hispanic, Asian-Pacific, Asian Indian and Native American. The City's rules say applicants may have to prove membership in a racial group with documents such as birth certificates and foreign passports. Businesses majority-owned by white men cannot qualify.

The City's online certification application requires every applicant to confirm that the business is majority-owned by a woman or a member of a designated minority group. An applicant who cannot answer "yes" is blocked by a red error box and cannot get past the first page.

City law also requires every agency to set M/WBE participation goals before it solicits bids. Agencies that fall short face compliance measures, and the mayor is responsible for enforcing the goals. The complaint alleges that the Department of Education's procurement portal puts M/WBE vendors in a separate category and that schools are encouraged to select M/WBEs first.

Even after the landmark Supreme Court case striking down race as a factor in college admissions—Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard—New York City is expanding its use of racial preferences. This year the Mamdani administration released the City's first-ever "New York City Racial Equity Plan," a 437-page document that promises to continue and expand preferences for minority-owned businesses.

The lawsuit asks the Court to:

• declare the M/WBE certification program unconstitutional and unlawful under §1981;
• bar the City from certifying businesses under the program or giving special benefits to certified firms;
• order the City to make certification available regardless of race or sex; and
• award damages, attorneys' fees and costs.

Edward Blum, president of AAER said, "For more than thirty years the Supreme Court has made clear that governments are virtually forbidden from awarding contracts based on skin color.  Yet New York City seems intent on doubling down on these unfair, polarizing, and illegal racial preferences."

Blum added, "Two months ago, a federal judge in Texas struck down Houston's minority contracting program. New York City's program has the same flaws, and this administration has chosen to expand it instead of ending it."

Blum concluded, "Every business that wants to work with the City deserves to compete on equal terms, regardless of the race or sex of its owners. We are confident the courts will end this program."

Contact:
Edward Blum
[email protected]
703-505-1922

SOURCE American Alliance for Equal Rights