Doing Business Search

CLOSE WINDOW

Application Description
How to Use the Application
     Accessing the Application
     Search By Individual
     Search By Entity
     Understanding the Search Results
     Sorting the Search Results
     Getting More Information on an Entity
     Using Help
     Doing Business Search FAQ
Field Descriptions

APPLICATION DESCRIPTION Back to Top
The Doing Business Search application provides access to the Doing Business Database, which contains information on those vendors and lobbyists that do business with the City of New York, as defined by Local Law 34. To establish this database, the City relied on information provided by entities and lobbyists to various City sources, primarily the Doing Business Accountability Project and the City Clerk. The database identifies the individuals who serve the listed non-lobbying entities as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operating Officer, or in positions that are the functional equivalents; are owners or partners with at least 10% interest in the entity; or are senior managers who oversee the entities’ business relationships with the City. For lobbying entities, lobbyists and their principal officers are listed.

The transactions currently covered by LL 34 are contracts, franchises, concessions, grants, and economic development agreements; contract, franchise and concession proposals; and lobbying. Later in 2008, the database will be expanded to include additional types of transactions.

Although all attempts have been made to ensure the accuracy of this data, neither the City of New York, the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, nor the Campaign Finance Board assume any liability resulting from any inaccuracies herein.

Local Law 34 sets lower limits on campaign contributions from individuals who do business with the City, and makes those contributions ineligible for public matching funds.

HOW TO USE THE APPLICATION Back to Top

Accessing the Application Back to Top

You may use the Doing Business Search page to perform searches on any individuals or entities doing business with NYC. The search page will be displayed when the application is opened. Access the application via: http://www.nyc.gov/doingbizsearch.

Search By Individual Back to Top

This search function is used to find individuals doing business with NYC by last name. Enter the whole (or partial) last name into the text field located in the left-hand shaded box and then click the “Search” button. You must enter at least two characters.

Search By Entity Back to Top

This search function is used to find entities doing business with NYC by entity name. The search will display partial name results as well as those that have numbers and certain special characters in their name.

Enter the whole (or partial) entity name into the text field located in the right-hand shaded box and then click on the “Search” button. You must enter at least two characters.

Understanding the Search Results Back to Top

The results for both types of search will initially sort by “starting with” search criteria, listing all the results beginning with what was typed in the search field. These will be followed by “contain search” results, listing all the results that contain what was typed somewhere within their names, in ascending alphabetical order. An entity or individual may appear twice as an exact duplicate or as a close approximation in the search results. This is the result of data coming from multiple data sources and / or data having been entered differently by users of those systems.

“Search by Individual” Results: Search results for an entered last name will be displayed as a list of individuals, each with a specific relationship to an entity doing business with NYC. Navigate to a different search result page by clicking on Previous Page, Next Page, or any Page Number.

“Search by Entity” Results: Search results for an entered entity name are displayed as a list of entities, whether multiple matches or an exact match is found. Navigate to a different search result page by clicking on Previous Page, Next Page, or any Page Number. There may be no people associated with an entity. This is a result of that data not being provided by the source from which the information came.

Sorting the Search Results Back to Top

To sort a list of search results by a column, click on the column heading.

Getting More Information on an Entity Back to Top

To view all individuals that are doing business with NYC within an entity, click on the entity name link on the Entity list page.

Links to entity detail data are identified by their green font and underlined text. See an example of details in the following image.

Using Help Back to Top

Help information can be accessed from any page by selecting the Help Guide link in the top right-hand corner of the page. Clicking this link will open the online help manual for the application.

Accessing the Help Definitions: Where available, descriptions for specific fields in the application can also be found by clicking the Help links next to the field name. They are indicated by a white “H” link: Click on the “H” link. The Help Guide will open up to the point in the guide where the definition is located.

Doing Business Search FAQ Back to Top

What individuals are considered to be doing business with the City?

The principal officers, owners, and senior managers of entities that have business dealings with the City are considered to be doing business with the City and are subject to this law.

• Principal officers are the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and Chief Operating Officer (COO), or their functional equivalents.

• Owners are individuals who own or control 10% or more of the entity. This includes stockholders, partners, and anyone else with an ownership or controlling interest in the entity.

• Senior managers include anyone who, either by job title or actual duties, has substantial discretion and high-level oversight regarding over the solicitation, letting, or administration of any contract, franchise, or concession with the City.

• Lobbyists include those people/organizations required by City law to file Lobbyist registrations.

What information is made available to the public?

The names of entities' principal officers and owners, which have previously been made public through the City's VENDEX database, will continue to be public, as will the names of senior managers. Each person's employer and title will be made public. The names of a Lobbyist Principal Officer and Lobbyists will be publicly disclosed as well. However, no sensitive personally identifying information will be made available to the public.

How does a person remove him/herself from the Doing Business Database?

Any person who believes that s/he should not be listed may apply for removal from the database. People who are on the database by virtue of non-lobbying related transactions should contact the Doing Business Accountability (DBA) Project of the Mayor's Office of Contract Services. Reasons that a person would be removed include his/her no longer being the principal officer, owner, or senior manager of the entity. Entities may also contact the DBA Project to add or remove such individuals. Removal and update forms are available online at MOCS, or by contacting the Doing Business Accountability Project at 212-788-8104. To remove Lobbyists from the database, contact the Office of the City Clerk at 212-669-8171.

How long will an entity and its officers, owners, senior managers, Lobbyist Principal Officer, and Lobbyists be listed on the Doing Business Search?

• Contract, Concession and Economic Development Agreement holders: generally for the term of the transaction, plus one year.

• Franchise and Grant holders: from the commencement or renewal of the transaction, plus one year.

• Pension investment contracts: from the time of presentation on an investment opportunity or the submission of a proposal, whichever is earlier, until the end of the contract, plus one year.

• Line item and discretionary appropriations: from the date of budget adoption until the end of the contract, plus one year.

• Contract proposers: for one year from the proposal date or date of public advertisement of the solicitation, whichever is later.

• Franchise and Concession proposers: for one year from the proposal submission date.

For information on other types of transactions, contact the Doing Business Accountability Project at 212-788-8104. If the transaction is related to Lobbyist information, contact the New York City Office of the City Clerk at 212-669-8171.

What are the campaign contribution limits for people doing business with the City?

Please contact the NYC Campaign Finance Board for information on contribution limits, at www.nyccfb.info, or 212-306-7100.

FIELD DESCRIPTIONS Back to Top

The following list contains descriptions of information available in the application.

NAME
This is the last name, first name, and middle name of every individual that is deemed doing business with NYC.

ENTITY
This is the name of the company that is deemed doing business with NYC.

RELATIONSHIP
This field describes the nature of a relationship between an individual and an entity. The relationship indicated is relevant to how the person is deemed to be doing business with NYC, such as CEO, CFO, COO, owner with 10% or more interests, senior manager managing a “Doing Business with NYC” type, Lobbyist officer, or Lobbyist.



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