tjuva@lohud.com11:22 p.m. EDT April 16, 2014

The Tappan Zee Bridge project has been a dream opportunity for small, budding businesses. And companies headed by women and ethnic and racial minorities are getting their own chances to score work on the $3.9 billion bridge replacement project, through a government effort to give a boost to certain groups that have historically been excluded from business opportunities.

The New York State Thruway Authority and bridge builder Tappan Zee Constructors is setting aside $314 million — 10 percent of the bridge construction cost — for companies certified as “disadvantaged business enterprises” by the federal government. Because the federal government is providing a low-interest loan to help pay for the Tappan Zee replacement, it requires that such companies are included. Brian Conybeare, special adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the project, said the project team has made a big effort to ensure those firms are included, “which will help them prosper, grow their businesses and employ more local workers.” So far, 60 certified DBEs have contributed to the project, totaling $49.7 million in subcontracts.

Here are some of their stories.

 From ironworker to business owner, Mike Aponte can still vividly recall his first day as an ironworker nearly 30 years ago. Aponte, now 48, was assigned to get coffee for crews building a high-rise on Wall Street.

“Never been up that high — I was shaking in my boots, but I didn’t show it to the men. That was some experience,” Aponte recalled.After working his way up from an ironworker to a foreman to a project supervisor, seven years ago Aponte became the president of his own steel construction company, Tyrek Heights Erectors Inc., a certified DBE based in Yonkers.”In general there has been the misconception that you can’t find a qualified a DBE — that’s not true,” he said. “There are many that are capable and put out quality work. We are not taking advantage of it. We actually perform. We know what we are doing.”So far, his company has done steel work at the TZC office on the Hudson Harbor property in Tarrytown. The firm has also removed and installed steel at the West Nyack building where the state police and Thruway Authority facilities will be temporarily relocated during bridge construction.

Still, Aponte has his sights set on the new structure”I would love to be part of the team that is going to erect and build the bridge,” he said. “To say one day to my grandkids, ‘I was part of this bridge,’ would be great.”

In the business of construction, Mahopac native Leigh Scirbona has never been daunted by working in a male-dominated industry. In her 20s, she began working for a highway construction company, reviewing contracts and handling project documents. For the last 25 years, Scirbona, now 56, has headed her own general contracting and concrete company, Advanced Contracting Concepts. The company has done work for the Walkway Over the Hudson project, Westchester and state parks and the New York State Bridge Authority. “I still have people who call me and say, ‘Honey, let me speak to your boss,’ ” she said. “It is still entertaining when they do that.” Last year, she expanded the company to construction administrative support services and landed work on the Tappan Zee project.  “A little over a year later, I’m on one of the largest design-build projects in the United States and one of the largest projects in New York state,” she said. “It’s been terrific.”

When TZC officials called her last year about finding them an office receptionist, Scirbona quickly responded. Not wanting to lose the chance, she worked the job herself for a week until she found someone permanent for the position. Scirbona has six employees as part of the Tappan Zee team, including the project’s documents control manager and a senior administrative assistant, and she hopes to keep expanding the list.The DBE program is critical to ensure all kinds of business owners are included in major infrastructure projects, she said.

“It doesn’t make us less qualified, less intelligent, less capable,” she said. “Without this program, smaller contractors wouldn’t get looked at.”

Husband and wife

Cynthia and John Behan share a business, but Cynthia is the one in charge “She really is the boss,” said her husband, co-owner of Behan Planning and Design, a landscape architecture and project planing firm and certified DBE. “She makes all the financial decisions. She makes all the hiring decisions. My role is now securing new work.” Such as the Tappan Zee project. The Behans’ firm, based in Saratoga Springs with a location in New City, has a subcontract with a public relations group hired by TZC. So far, the Behans’ company has helped organize Tappan Zee community outreach meetings and create public newsletters and presentations.

“To have this project that’s running steady for a while, it’s stabilizing for us,” said Cynthia Behan, 58, a landscape architect who also worked on the New City streetscape revitalization. John Behan, also 58, said his wife’s design knowledge is especially helpful when they are asked to put together presentations. “When we get technical documents from the engineers, she can understand the engineer drawings and help present them to the public,” he said. While their Rockland location only has one employee, the couple hopes more work on the project will allow them to hire a second one later this year.

How is a “disadvantaged business enterprise” defined?

The small company must be 51 percent owned by one or more “socially and economically disadvantaged” individuals, which are women and racial and ethnic minority groups.

Business revenue and the owner’s personal net worth are used to determine whether a company qualifies. Government officials conduct personal interviews, business visits and reviews of license and financial records before a firm is certified.

Source: New York State Thruway/U.S. Department of Transportation

TZB firms by the numbers

A total of 135 companies have worked on the project so far, totaling $432 million in subcontracts.

Of those, 60 are considered DBEs, with those subcontracts totaling $49.7 million.

$314 million has been set aside for DBEs

Source: Tappan Zee Constructors