IN RE: ELITE CONTRACTORS (2008)

Determination of respondent, dated October 2, 2006, denying petitioner certification as a woman-owned business enterprise (WBE), unanimously confirmed, the petition denied and the proceeding brought pursuant to CPLR Article 78 (transferred to this Court by Order of the Supreme Court, New York County [William A. Wetzel, J.], entered May 22, 2007), dismissed, without costs.

Petitioner, Elite Contractors, Inc., an Ohio corporation authorized to do business and with a principal place of business in New York and engaged in the business of bridge painting, is 82% owned by two sisters, with two brothers having minority shares.   Despite this majority ownership, respondent's determination that petitioner is not a WBE was not arbitrary and capricious, and was supported by substantial evidence (see 300 Gramatan Ave. Assoc. v. State Div. of Human Rights, 45 N.Y.2d 176, 181-182, 408 N.Y.S.2d 54, 379 N.E.2d 1183 [1978];  Matter of Skyline Specialty v. Gargano, 294 A.D.2d 742, 742 N.Y.S.2d 426 [2002] ).

Respondent's guidelines provided a basis to deny the application as there was “some credible evidence” (see Matter of Borenstein v. New York City Employees' Retirement Sys., 88 N.Y.2d 756, 760-761, 650 N.Y.S.2d 614, 673 N.E.2d 899 [1996] ) that petitioner relied on another family-owned entity for expertise and referrals.