Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
Mayor de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray participate in the Shop Your City Campaign for Small Business Saturday at The Strand Bookstore in Manhattan.
By Forum Staff
Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Department of Small Business Services Commissioner Jonnel Doris recently announced three financial assistance programs available for small businesses in low-to-moderate income neighborhoods. The NYC LMI Storefront Loan, Interest Rate Reduction Grant, and Strategic Impact COVID-19 Commercial District Support Grant will provide critical resources to small businesses to help them build back and grow beyond the pandemic, de Blasio noted.
NYC LMI Storefront Loan
The SBS has partnered with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Pursuit BDC on this $35 million loan vehicle.
Storefront businesses with at least two but fewer than 100 employees who are located in LMI neighborhoods will be eligible to apply for a zero-interest loan up to $100K. The loan can be used to help businesses restart or continue operations after experiencing challenges from COVID-19.
Businesses who would like to apply for the loan must:
Be a storefront business located within an LMI zip code; have business operations since or before Jan. 1st, 2018; employ between two and 99 employees.
Businesses can learn more about the NYC LMI Storefront Loan and eligibility criteria at nyc.gov/storefrontloan.
Reducing Business Debt
The Interest Rate Reduction Grant will help reduce the interest expense owed on an existing loan with select Community Development Financial Institutions. CDFIs focus on serving businesses that cannot easily access capital and creating opportunities that positively impact the communities they serve. SBS has partnered with 11 CDFIs who work primarily with Asian, Black, Latinx, and immigrant business owners.
The grant will free up cash flow for businesses that can be repurposed to help restart or maintain operations. Businesses must have an existing loan with CDFIs listed below and should contact their CDFI to confirm if they are eligible to apply.
- Accompany Capital (Previously Business Center for New Americans)
- Ascendus (Previously Accion East)
- BOC Capital
- Greater Jamaica Development Corporation
- Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund
- Renaissance Economic Development Corporation
- The Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation
- TruFund Financial Services
- Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Development Corporation
- Washington Heights and Inwood Development Corporation
- The Working World DBA Seed Commons.
Strategic Impact COVID-19 Commercial District Support Grant
The Strategic Impact COVID-19 Commercial District Support grant will provide funding to community-based development organizations (CBDOs) to implement local COVID-19 recovery support to small businesses. The funds will be used to conduct outreach, provide technical assistance to connect small businesses, increase awareness and comprehension of new City and State rules and regulations, and strengthen merchant relationships to foster collaboration and increased local organizing.
$700,000 will be available over the next 6 months to local communities. Eligible applicants must serve one or more of the following 39 LMI neighborhoods and communities of color:
Queens: Briarwood, Corona, Jamaica, Queensbridge, Rockaways
Bronx: Crotona, East Tremont, Highbridge, Hunts Point, Jerome Park, Longwood, Melrose, Morris Heights, Morrisania, Mott Haven, Soundview, Soundview Bruckner, Van Cortlandt Park
Brooklyn: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brighton Beach, Brownsville, Bushwick, Canarsie, East Flatbush, East New York, Starrett City, Sunset Park, and Coney Island
Manhattan: Central Harlem, Chinatown, East Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Inwood, Lower East Side, Morningside Heights, Washington Heights
Staten Island: St. George, Stapleton
Eligible applicants include nonprofit community-based development organizations that serve a single-neighborhood, CBDOs that serve multiple neighborhoods or a borough, and organizations that can provide organizing and technical assistance to neighborhood-serving organizations across the city. Organizations interested in applying should visit nyc.gov/strategicimpactgrant.
