* § 1696. Designation of small business set-asides at the Hostos
Community College. The chairman has authority to designate as small
business set-asides specified commodities, equipment or services or
contracts for construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or
improvement of college facilities for which purchase or work contract
have been requested by the board of trustees of either the Bronx
Community College or the Hostos Community College under the provisions
of this title. The designation shall be made prior to the advertisement
for bids as provided by law, and when the advertisement is published it
shall indicate the purchases which have been designated small business
set-asides. To effectuate the purposes of this title, the chairman may
exercise this authority whenever there is a reasonable expectation that
bids will be obtained from at least three small businesses capable of
furnishing the desired property or service at a fair and reasonable
price.

In the case of purchases or work contracts designated as small
business set-asides, invitations to bid shall be confined to small
businesses and bids from other businesses shall be rejected. The
purchase, contract or expenditure of funds shall be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder among the small businesses (considering
conformity with specifications and terms) in accordance with the rules
and regulations for purchasing published by the authority.

It is hereby declared that a portion of small business set-asides,
shall be set aside in turn as exclusively as possible, to small
businesses owned or controlled by minority entrepreneurs as previously
defined, and that such aforementioned businesses, shall constitute not
less than twenty-five percent of the successful bidders under this
title. Other contracts and business that in the opinion of the chairman
can be judged to be substantially beneficial to socially or economically
disadvantaged individuals may also be excluded from the general
provisions and procedures applicable to the larger set-aside contracts.

Minority business concerns eligible hereunder shall be excluded from
stipulated limitations of sales volume, number of employees and other
factors defined in this title.

Offers must be advertised in the locality where a contract is to be
effectuated. In locations where twenty-five percent or more of the
population is non-English-speaking, notices shall be published in
appropriate translated form. The procurement officer shall cooperate
with county-wide business development organizations servicing minority
communities in the formulation and maintenance of lists of qualified
contractors, and shall notify such contractors of opportunities to
submit bids for set-aside contracts. Minority bidders will be notified
of reasons why their bids were unsuccessful. That each minority small
business concern which bids is notified of reasons for failure to secure
a successful bid, and that where responsibility as defined by the
procurement officer or officers, agent or agents is a factor, such
responsibility will be defined, and such reasons for determination of
lack of responsibility will be provided the minority small business
bidders.

Bonding requirements shall be negotiable for minority bidders.

* NB There are 2 § 1696's