Opinion: The Work is Just Beginning

Medium

As we start to celebrate Small Business Saturday in this year’s shifted landscape, it is important to remember the road to recovery has only just begun for most businesses and their employees, but government support has all but ceased.

As of August, all federally supported programs of loans, grants, and unemployment assistance ended. Congress couldn’t agree to a second stimulus package we desperately need. However, we New Yorkers, newly-emerged from the lockdown, did what we do best in moments of adversity: we rolled up our sleeves, and went to work.

This summer, businesses slowly reopened, armed with Department of Health mandated protocols, where we saw folks eating at their local haunts either on sidewalks, or blocked off roadways. We returned to our nail salons and bodegas, greeted with plexiglass dividers and hand sanitizers. Businesses undertook executing these mandates with great expense in the hopes of making up lost ground. I think we all saw the glimmer of hope, that little thought of, “maybe we are getting back to normal”.

However, with colder weather and the start of flu season, we are starting to see COVID rates rise rapidly, with hotspots forming in the outer boroughs. One such hot spot is District 24 in Queens, where I am running for City Council.

The reality is starting to set in that we may very well be headed into a second lockdown. But this will be more dangerous than the first because, this time, there are no government-provided resources to fall back on.

As a small-business owner myself, our city government’s response to this pandemic is frustrating. With ever-changing rules, never-ending paperwork, and incredibly specific qualification requirements for any sort of financial relief, I decided to pivot my business into just providing food for essential workers, frontline responders, and food insecure members of my community. I independently raised funding to support my decision, as well as to be able to make payroll. It wasn’t a profitable pivot, rather a conscientious one. I delivered a swift solution to a desperate problem. I consider myself one of the few lucky ones. For the majority, times are still grim.

Many of the small businesses in my district are immigrant owned, employing a workforce of newly arrived immigrants working towards their own goals of ownership and equity. These businesses’ shuttering risks a devastating ripple effect to our city’s economy. Partnership for New York City reported that as many as 520,000 jobs have been lost from the small business sector, with minority-owned businesses taking the hardest hit.

As a candidate, I spend a lot of my time understanding the fears and concerns of the folks in my district. Speaking to business owners, there are consistent themes in their troubles, the most prominent being rent. Prior to the pandemic, alarming increases in commercial rent were observed. COVID simply pressure cooked the brewing trouble. This is not just one simple problem with one clear solution.

Let’s look at restaurants as an example of this grave concern. The New York Hospitality Alliance found in a survey that 83% of restaurants were unable to pay full rent in July. The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce reported that only 20% of restaurants could negotiate some rent relief from their landlord.

It is clear, as we wait for help from Washington, that we have to take pragmatic steps on the local level that can provide the immediate relief needed. This is why, as a City Councilmember, I am pledging to work towards getting the COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Lease Act passed. This is a piece of state legislation sponsored by Senator Brian Kavanaugh and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, with support from sitting Councilmembers Brad Lander and Keith Powers.

The bill proposes the City of New York launch comprehensive recovery lease program that incentivizes commercial landlords to restructure near-ending leases. These leases would be for ten years with a required cap of 5% of annual rent increase. Small businesses facing evictions will be able to find the rent relief that they are looking for. This relief will also prevent them from having to layoff workers or cut hours, ensuring help for the employees of these businesses.

With a stimulus package only expected in spring, this bill can be passed as soon as February in our State Legislature. This means we can put the program in place in time. As Councilmember, I will maintain a robust partnership with all the elected officials in my district because it will be critical in order to ensure the right bills, programs, and funding come to District 24 and is not overlooked.

As I said, the work is just beginning. There is more work needed and rent relief is just one portion of an extensive recovery plan. We still need to fight for $15 minimum wage, as well as worker’s rights, but today, let’s keep our small business open, running, and thriving.