NEW YORK CITY — Not since Estevanico Gomez brought his ships to the mouth of the Hudson River in 1525, causing the Atlantic seaboard to be christened Tierra de Esteban Gomez, have African-Americans enjoyed more governmental power in the state of New York.   Sen. James Sanders, D-Queens, vice president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, told the launch of ReUNION: State of Black Business, 22d edition  that he and colleagues are ready to fight for the cause that Alexander Hamilton and John Jay and George Washington supported in New York’s earliest days.

Life science has led the economic development of African-Americans in New York State since the pandemic with a $1 billion investment in Downstate Medical Center’s University Hospital and new energy behind the appointment of Dr. Sandra Scott as new CEO of One Brooklyn Health.  In the past four years, there have been 30,000 new Black nurses in New York State, ground central for the devastating losses.

With the new investment, Downstate can compete for research funding globally and provide improved service to patients as well as more training of practitioners.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, Deputy Mayor Adolfo Carrión Jr., and New York City Housing Development Corporation (HDC) President Eric Enderlin launched in 2024 a new initiative to provide up to $50 million to help Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) developers overcome historical financial barriers and fully participate in the development of critically needed affordable housing for New Yorkers.

“For too long, Minority Business Enterprises have faced systemic barriers and restrictive financial requirements in our construction sector that have prevented them from being a part of the solution to the affordable housing crisis,” said Mayor Adams. “The  $50 million initiative is a major step forward towards our goal of building a fairer, more equitable New York City while creating housing, jobs, and opportunity for all.  As we said in this year’s State of the City address: this city and this nation are facing a massive housing crisis. To face this moment, we must be a ‘City of Yes’ — ‘yes’ in my backyard, ‘yes’ on my block, ‘yes’ in my city, and ‘yes’ to our MBEs.”  

“In order for New York City to stay competitive on a global stage, we must ensure we’re building the affordable housing we need, and minority-housing development partners are a key part of that path forward,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development and Workforce Carrión. 

Their initiatives are rooted in the example of Alexander Hamilton, Benjamin Franklin and John Jay who were sponsors of the Free African Schools in New York City as early as the 1760s.  The seven schools had classrooms as large as 200 students, but they were the starting points for the abolition movement.  Hamilton, Franklin and Jay realized that African-Americans were the critical factor in the survival of the Constitution that they wrote in the 1700s.  Their assessment was correct as two centuries later, the institutions they seeded in New York City like Abyssinian Baptist Church, Mother A.M.E. Zion Church continue to lead the fight for justice.

Empire State Development found in its 2024 report on minority businesses:

For over 35 years, the New York State Division of Minority and Women’s Business Development (DMWBD) has promoted greater participation in New York State contracts for NYS MWBEs. Our goal is to create an economic ecosystem that builds pathways for the historically underrepresented and taps into the limitless potential of the MWBE community. In New York, MWBEs earn less wages and business earnings than their non-minority male counterparts. This is confirmed by the Empire State Development 2024 Disparity Study, which shows overwhelming evidence of disparities and MWBE underutilization in the private sector. The substantial evidence of disparity further supports the notion that, while the MWBE program has made effective steps to encourage equality of economic opportunities for MWBEs, it is vital for the program to continue its commitment to the MWBE community in eliminating barriers to their participation in state contracting.

Central Brooklyn Economic Development Corp., winner of the 2024 Community Partner of the Year from Local Initiatives Support Corp. and a $600,000 grant for its Brooklyn Youth Offshore Wind Program from Citizens Bank Foundation, topped off its Glenmore Manor mixed use development with local developer Ericka Keller and broke ground on the first steps in its Belmont Corridor as Adenah Bayoh and Emelyn Stuart bring Bayoh’s fourth Cornbread restaurant and Stuart Cinema and Cafe to the $1.5 billion Brownsville market which includes 100,000 residents.  It is another result of the $1.3 million economic mobility grant to the Brownsville Hub Collaborative from Robin Hood Foundation.