Report: seven firms that worked on Atlantic Yards are on city's caution list; note that three helped Forest City pursue MWBE goals

DNAInfo reports, in Shady Firms Flagged by City Helped Build Barclays Center that at least seven construction companies working on the arena and Atlantic Yards:

are currently on the city’s caution list, which warns agencies of contract bidders’ past problems. Two of the tainted firms acted so badly that the city has flat out banned them from contracting with its School Construction Authority.
None of the firms were placed on the list for their work at the Atlantic Yards. But four were on the caution list while working at the development.
Unlike the city, private developers are not required to consult the caution list before hiring a contractor.

And in this case, several wire hired by subcontracts.

Pursuing MWBE numbers

Three of the seven firms helped Forest City Ratner pursue (but not yet achieve, apparently) an ambitious percentage of M/WBE (minority and women's business enterprises) contracts, a goal under both the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and state contracts.

Among those listed by DNAinfo,  Felix Associates LLC is listed by the NYC Comptroller's Office as an MBE, a Hispanic-owned business. Site Safety LLC lists itself as an MBE.

A. Russo Wrecking is a woman-owned business. (As I wrote in 2010, a firm owned by a white female resident of Nassau County may seem to fulfills the aspirations of the CBA, but hardly represents the Brooklyn groups--however unrepresentative themselves--that signed the CBA.)