NYC MWBE RFP & Government Contract Opportunities | October 2026 • Week 5 | The Second Wave: New Doors Open on Jobs Whose First Doors Closed, Three Owner Bids Draw Primes & the Federal Lane Goes Dark | 350+ Active Bids Across NYC, NYS & Federal

NYC • NYS • Federal • Time-Sensitive • MWBE-Relevant Procurement Intelligence

For three weeks, the story was four primes piling onto one job. This week the streak ended. No job in the Contract Reporter drew more than one new prime door.

What happened instead may matter more to certified subs. Doors reopened. On five jobs, a prime posted a new MWBE door after the first round had closed or was about to:

If you missed a job the first time, it may not be over.

The "owner ad, then prime door" signal fired three times. OGS's Saranac Lake Train Depot drew a prime in two days, SUNY Binghamton's Johnson City chiller/boiler job in five, and Cornell's Plant Science Building in thirteen.

Beyond construction, the state side ran deep: a SUNY Niagara marketing agency of record and legal services contract, University at Albany enrollment marketing, SUNY Upstate medical coding, a Port Authority IT call-in contract and a Port Authority workforce RFP marked for small business enterprises. On NYC PASSPort, the picks are a DFTA NORC senior-services RFP, DOC commissary operations, DEP green-infrastructure design and DCAS auto body repair.

And our SAM.gov pull has no open federal set-asides: the first zero since we started counting new notices in Issue #44.

👉 Explore our full guide to NYC MWBE RFP & Government Contract Opportunities: https://www.mwbereport.com/p/new-post-d4aa

Before reviewing the listings below, read our step-by-step guide: How to Read an RFP in 8 Minutes https://www.mwbereport.com/p/how-to-read-an-rfp-in-8-minutes

The window for reactive firms closes. The window for positioned firms opens.

🧓 12526P0003 — NORC RFP — Department for the Aging

EPIN: 12526P0003 | Agency: Department for the Aging | Program: Naturally Occurring Retirement Community (NORC) | Release Date: 10/20/2026 | Due Date: December 14, 2026, 2:00 PM | Category: Senior Services | Procurement Method: Competitive Sealed Proposal

🟢 Seven-week runway — human services, direct prime DFTA is procuring services for Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities, the buildings and neighborhoods where older New Yorkers age in place. It's a direct-prime opportunity for community-based providers with case-management, health-and-wellness or social-services programs. Seven weeks is enough time to line up site partners and a budget. Read the RFP for service areas and any participation requirements before you build the team.

🍽 07227P0001 — Modernized Commissary Operations — DOC

EPIN: 07227P0001 | Agency: Department of Correction | Program: Commissary | Release Date: 10/20/2026 | Due Date: December 7, 2026, 3:00 PM | Category: Food and Beverage Management Services | Procurement Method: Competitive Sealed Proposal

🟢 Six-week runway — food, retail and logistics DOC wants to modernize its commissary operations. That's a food-and-beverage management contract with inventory, ordering and distribution behind it. Large operators will bid, and they'll need certified distributors, suppliers and technology partners. Food-service and logistics firms that can't prime should identify the likely bidders now and pitch a teaming role.

🌳 82627P0002 — Green Infrastructure Design Services Task Order Contract (BEPA: GI-PSE 1-3) — DEP

EPIN: 82627P0002 | Agency: Department of Environmental Protection | Program: Sustainability | Release Date: 10/21/2026 | Due Date: November 18, 2026, 4:00 PM | Category: Design Services | Procurement Method: Competitive Sealed Proposal

🟢 Three-week runway — design and engineering DEP is procuring design services, on a task-order basis, for green infrastructure in NYC parks and on city-owned street ends. Task-order contracts pay out over years as work is assigned. Certified landscape architects, civil engineers and stormwater designers should prime or team. The "1-3" in the title suggests more than one award; confirm in the RFP.

🔧 85727B0030 — Auto Body and Chassis Repair Services for Queens East (Re-Advertised) — DCAS

EPIN: 85727B0030 | Agency: DCAS Division of Municipal Supply Services | Program: OCP – Miscellaneous | Release Date: 10/21/2026 | Due Date: November 18, 2026, 2:00 PM | Category: Fleet Services | Procurement Method: Competitive Sealed Bid

🟢 Three-week runway — a contract a neighborhood shop can win DCAS is bidding auto body and chassis repair for city vehicles in eastern Queens. It's marked "RE-AD," so the first round didn't produce an award, which often means a thin bidder pool. Queens body shops with the right insurance and capacity should price it. Low responsive, responsible bid wins.

🔎 Seven RFIs: The Earliest Door in Public Procurement

An RFI is an agency asking the market how to write the contract. Respond and you shape the scope and see the solicitation coming.

Also on PASSPort this week:

MWBE/SDVOB-designated contracts flagged first.

🔵 MWBE OR SDVOB DISCRETIONARY ($150,000–$1,500,000) — One Reserved Buy, and It's Tech Again

CR#: 2140195 | Agency: NYS Office of Information Technology Services | Issue Date: 10/23/2026 | Due Date: November 20, 2026 | Location: Remote and Albany

🟢 Implementation & Development Services for the Department of Health Lead Rental System One new reserved buy this week, down from four. It's a software implementation and development engagement for DOH's lead rental registry. Certified IT services firms with state-agency systems experience should read it now. The lane's count by issue: four in #46, zero in #47, four in #48, one in #49. NYS ESD MWBE or OGS SDVOB certification required.

Also reserved, under a different program: OCFS posted DISC 1273 Comprehensive Statewide Needs Assessment (CR# 2140144, due November 20) under the Small Business or Recycled Technology discretionary ad type ($150,000 and up). That's a research and evaluation job reserved for small businesses, not MWBEs. Check the eligibility language.

🔵 MWBE-ONLY — Still Open: DASNY CUNY York College

CR#: 2139752 | Due Date: November 19, 2026 | Exterior Light, Perimeter Fence & Asbestos Abatement, Jamaica, Queens

From Issue #48, and still the only prime contract in this report that only minority- and women-owned firms can bid. Three weeks left.

🟣 SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS — Two Doors With Their Own Certifications

The titles mark both for small-business programs: the Port Authority's SBE program and the MTA's Small Business Mentoring Program. Those programs have their own certification and enrollment rules, separate from NYS MWBE. If you're already enrolled, these are written for you. If not, read the eligibility section before you spend time.

🔵 THE SECOND WAVE — New Doors on Jobs Whose First Doors Closed

Category: Construction Horizontal & Vertical

🔴 This week's editorial thread

Two kinds of second wave are in this list. On I-DIME, Old Quarry Road and Mabey Bridge, a different prime arrived after or alongside the first. On Guide Board Road and Beekmantown, the same prime re-posted with a later date, which usually means the owner's bid date moved. Harrison and Burrowes is a repeat: in Issue #45 it was the second prime behind Maloy on the TAA 26-13BR Thruway bridge package. Now it's behind Maloy again, on Old Quarry Road.

The lesson for certified subs: a closed door is not a closed job. Before you write off a project you missed, check the Contract Reporter for a second door. Then ask the prime whether the bid date moved.

🏛 OWNER BID → PRIME DOOR — Three Times This Week

Issue #46 named the signal. Issue #48 saw Titan prove it in four days. This week it fired three times. Johnson City is the one to watch: the site/civil and electrical packages have no prime doors yet. Certified electrical and site-work firms in the Southern Tier: those doors are likely coming. Get your capability statement to the bidders now.

🏙 NYC AGENCY & PRIME WATCH — Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island

NYCHA has now posted three vinyl-composition floor requirement contracts in two weeks: Brooklyn BK06/BK07 in Issue #48 (CR# 2139854, due Nov 10), plus Brooklyn BK08/BK09 and Manhattan MN06/MN07 this week. A small certified flooring firm could prime more than one. Requirement contracts pay by the apartment, so steady crews matter more than size.

🧠 BEYOND CONSTRUCTION — Marketing, Legal, Staffing, IT and Health Care

Two marketing agency-of-record contracts in one week, from SUNY Niagara and University at Albany, is a rare creative-services showing on the state side. Add a community-college legal services contract, a medical coding contract and an event-planning RFQ, and certified agencies, law firms, billing companies and event planners all have a live state door.

NYS RFIs this week: DASNY, OASAS C.K. Post Addiction Treatment Center Roof Replacement & Abatement (CR# 2140035, Nov 18); DHSES, Fire Investigation Reporting Management System (CR# 2140135, Nov 19); ITS, Cloud Broker Management & Operation Services (CR# 2140200, Nov 6); NYSIF, Digital Payment Services for Payees (CR# 2140234, Nov 18); DEC, Saratoga Tree Nursery Sales, Inventory and Order Tracking System (CR# 2140207, Dec 11).

⚫ The Federal Lane Goes Dark: Zero Open Set-Asides

This week's SAM.gov export holds three Total Small Business notices, and none can take a new response:

Federal lane note: New notices by issue: four in #44, two in #45, one in #46, one in #47, two in #48, zero in #49. Still no WOSB, 8(a) or HUBZone notices. We won't pad this section. A dry week is the time to get ready, not to wait: confirm your SAM.gov registration is active and your size status is right for your NAICS codes, so you can move the day the next set-aside posts.

Issue #49 draws from NYC PASSPort, the NY State Contract Reporter, and SAM.gov. Eligibility differs across all three layers, and this week adds a fourth:

NYC contracts require active PASSPort registration and NYC M/WBE certification through NYC SBS for MWBE participation goals. Certification must be active, not pending or expired, at the time of submission. This week's DFTA, DOC, DEP and DCAS picks are direct-prime opportunities; read each solicitation for its own participation terms.

NYS contracts require NYS MWBE certification through Empire State Development (ESD), which is separate from NYC SBS certification. SDVOB certification is issued by NYS OGS. That covers the ITS reserved buy, DASNY's MWBE-only York College bid, and every contractor ad in Section 2.

Authority and small-business programs run their own rules. The Port Authority's SBE program and the MTA's Small Business Mentoring Program have their own eligibility and enrollment. An NYS or NYC MWBE certificate alone may not get you in.

Federal contracts do not recognize NYC or NYS MWBE certification. Federal set-asides (WOSB, 8(a), HUBZone, Total Small Business) are administered by the SBA, and active SAM.gov registration is mandatory. There are no open set-asides this week, so use the time to get your registration and size status in order.

Firms that pursue contracts before resolving certification gaps often lose months correcting eligibility issues after deadlines have passed.

Not sure if your business qualifies for the opportunities above, or whether you should be priming, subcontracting, or getting certified first?

Take the free MWBE Readiness Assessment at CertifyEase.com. It takes under five minutes. You'll get a score, a plain-language explanation of where your business stands, and what to do next. No sales pitch. No obligation. 👉 certifyease.com/readiness

• • Liberty Street award. Still pending. When it posts, we'll report which of the four primes won.

The MWBE Report monitors NYC PASSPort, NY State Contract Reporter, and SAM.gov procurement listings weekly to identify time-sensitive opportunities for certified MWBE firms across construction, services, technology, and professional services sectors.

Tracking opportunities is only half the battle. If you want help deciding what to pursue, how to position, and when to prime vs. subcontract, join the BidMWBE Waitlist.

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