Oct. 28, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The SL Green/Hard Rock bid to redevelop Aqueduct is receiving support from minority and women-owned business enterprises and associations across New York City. More than 25 entities recently issued letters of support urging state leaders to select the team made up of SL Green Realty Corp., Hard Rock International, Robert L. Johnson (through Caribbean CAGE LLC) and construction team Tishman Construction.

The letters cited the bidders’ strong commitment to and long history of working well with MWBEs and local small businesses, most pointedly noting that SL Green and Tishman have operated in New York City communities successfully for many years.

“It is easy for developers to promise to include small and MWBE businesses in their projects, but it is another thing to deliver. Many developers, unfamiliar with the challenges of building and operating in New York City, find their financial models strained and quickly jettison their earlier commitments. The SL Green/Tishman/Hard Rock team has a proven track record of working with the small business community and ensuring that their success is our success. This is why CACCI strongly endorses their bid for Aqueduct,” wrote Roy Hastick, CEO of the Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The groups who recently wrote letters include:

• Asian American Business Development Center
• Asian Women in Business
• Caribbean American Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Circle of Sisters and Brothers
• National Minority Business Council
• New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Professional Women in Construction

These groups were joined by more than fifteen individual operators, from Creative Construction Services Corp. to USA Painting Inc.

As mentioned by these supporters, SL Green and Hard Rock have a firm commitment to involving MWBEs and local small businesses in the redevelopment of Aqueduct, so that the team reflects the community and the project provides economic opportunities to the neighborhood. To that end, SL Green and Hard Rock have engaged Spectrum Personal Communications Corp. and the Regional Alliance (each a minority-owned business in itself) to ensure that they live up to this commitment throughout the redevelopment process.

In addition to support from MWBEs, the SL Green/Hard Rock bid has recently received major support from local labor groups. The Building & Construction Trades Council, the NY Hotel & Motel Trades Council, SEIU Local 32BJ, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 3, and the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 94 have all written letters of support.

The bid also recently received two major newspaper endorsements, from the New York Observer and Crain’s New York Business, which said that the SL Green/Hard Rock bid had the greatest likelihood of success.

The SL Green/Hard Rock bid has also been shown in a survey to be the favorite choice of Queens residents. The third-party survey, commissioned by SL Green, demonstrates that the Hard Rock brand is well liked in Queens and is the best known of all the bidders, clearly indicating that an SL Green/Hard Rock project would not only be well received, but well utilized by Queens residents. The survey results also show that Queens voters strongly favor an Aqueduct developer that combines deep New York roots and a commitment to union jobs with a strong understanding of the gaming industry. No other bidder meets these criteria better than the SL Green/Hard Rock team, working with Tishman Construction.