Q&A
Discussion on bill to study costs related to opening and maintaining a business
1:33:30
ยท
7 min
Council Member Feliz inquires about SBS's position on a proposed bill to study costs related to opening and maintaining a business. Commissioner Gross expresses concerns about the feasibility and reliability of such a comprehensive study.
- SBS already provides information on city regulatory costs for permits and licenses
- The bill's scope includes broader operational costs, which vary greatly among businesses
- Commissioner Gross suggests the proposed study might be too complex and ambitious to yield reliable results
Oswald Feliz
1:33:30
Alright.
1:33:30
Thank you.
1:33:31
Thank you for the information.
1:33:32
Back to regulatory compliance now.
1:33:35
So, one of the bills we're hearing is, Councilmember Bernard Cease's bill to study the costs related to maintaining and keeping maintaining and opening up a business.
1:33:45
Can you explain your position on that?
1:33:47
Mhmm.
1:33:47
And whether you have any recommendations on the bill?
1:33:49
I know already you mentioned that it would be a lot, but just curious.
1:33:52
Are you supportive, but you're open to modifications?
Dynishal Gross
1:33:55
Or Well, I I'm supportive of this committee and your focus on small businesses.
1:33:59
We're one team as far as I'm concerned.
1:34:01
In terms of the city regulatory cost, so the cost for permits and licenses, both initial and renewal licenses, we already provide that information and it's available to small businesses on the My City business portal.
1:34:16
I tested it myself last night because I don't like to come to hearings and they and then be embarrassed.
1:34:21
So you use a little search icon, you put in barber.
1:34:24
You wanna open a barber shop, the first page that comes up tells you the licenses and permits and the fees associated with them.
1:34:32
You wanna open a salon, same thing.
1:34:34
You wanna open a grocery store, that information on those costs those regulatory costs that the city imposes.
1:34:41
The bill goes much further.
1:34:42
The bill, asks us to look at costs related to small business operations, and those are as vast as the types of businesses, neighborhoods, commercial districts, commercial properties in the city.
1:34:55
And, and I'm not confident that we have the right source of data to report on that.
1:35:02
I read your committee report again because I'm a nerd, and I read all the footnotes in your report.
1:35:07
And I read this great study that ANHD did in in 2019, about small business tenant harassment.
1:35:16
And, you know, I'm interested in the design of that study and how many businesses they surveyed.
1:35:21
And I believe the insights that are reported on in the full study came from survey responses from less than a 100 businesses.
1:35:30
Right?
1:35:31
So we serve businesses at scale through our services.
1:35:34
We have a lot of insight based on that service delivery, but when we're looking at very small numbers, of businesses, for example, accessing the commercial tenant harassment law, it's hard, I think, and perhaps, you know, unwise to draw conclusions about citywide policy or investments from such small inputs.
1:35:56
And so since there is so much diversity in small business operational costs, you know, we'd be looking at very narrow, groups of businesses and then trying to draw large conclusions.
1:36:08
And I think, analytically, it's it's too complex.
1:36:12
So we can absolutely provide insight and do provide insight for small business owners in regulatory costs, but the operational costs are, I believe, so diverse that the study would be so ambitious, and I'm not sure that the results, would be usable and reliable.
1:36:31
Does that make sense?
1:36:35
Kind of?
Oswald Feliz
1:36:35
Kind of.
1:36:36
I guess.
Dynishal Gross
1:36:37
I try I'm trying.
1:36:38
I'm also being honest.
Oswald Feliz
1:36:40
Alright.
1:36:40
So I guess putting aside the full, thorough, program or study analyzing everything, if you were to guess based on, all the time that you've, taken speaking with small, small business owners and researching the issue, what would be some of the highest costs costs that stand out related to opening a small business?
1:37:03
Yeah.
Dynishal Gross
1:37:04
Construction, it's the, you know, it's the renovation of the space to operate the business.
1:37:10
I think the period between, when a a business signs a commercial lease and they can actually open their doors is a very risky business.
1:37:19
Right?
1:37:19
They've got a lot of outlays, a lot of costs, and no income from operating the business.
1:37:24
And so that's why we focus on helping them understand what the processes are, sequence them, help to liaison with the regulatory agencies so they can get that DOB inspection.
1:37:37
They can get that FDNY inspection.
1:37:40
They can work with the utility company to get the account established and get the gas connected, so they're able to open and begin earning money.
1:37:49
We we know and have heard from our small business advisory commission and many small businesses, our bids, our chambers of commerce, that small business insurance costs are increasing significantly, and we have seen it in our service delivery.
1:38:04
Right now, we have a, a grant program, our business preparedness program.
1:38:09
It allows businesses to better understand their risks of either coastal or infrastructure flooding and then provides a a implementation grant to help them improve those risks.
1:38:21
And we look at their level of insurance and whether or not they're underinsured, and we are seeing a higher level of underinsurance and complete uninsurance in that program this year than we saw in our entire delivery of the Hurricane Sandy Grant and Loan Program.
1:38:38
We're hearing it from nightlife businesses, f and b businesses, our industry partnerships.
1:38:43
We know that there are concerns about insurance costs and those, these small businesses vulnerable in the case of an emergency.
1:38:51
So that will definitely be a focus of greater learning for us this year.
1:38:55
We raised it recently in a roundtable with senator Gillibrand.
1:38:59
And, you know, the insurance industry itself is going through significant changes.
1:39:03
We see that, you know, in the California wildfires, etcetera.
1:39:05
But the impact on the ground here in New York City for small businesses is very significant and troubling.
Oswald Feliz
1:39:13
Okay.
1:39:13
And on the issue of opening up a business, I know you mentioned permits and renovations.
1:39:19
Any city related processes that you've seen delay the opening of a business, further creating economic issues for that new upcoming business?
1:39:31
Recently, I heard about, you know, FDNY, for example, permits and inspections delaying processes and Okay.
1:39:38
That that's what we
Lisa Sorin
1:39:39
have in New Smyrna.
Dynishal Gross
1:39:40
Yeah.
1:39:41
I would say every business owner comes to us with a concern or a need, but they really span the small business regulatory agencies.
1:39:50
I don't know that there's a particular issue where there's a or where we think something is broken.
1:39:55
If we were observing that in our client services, we work consistently with the regulatory agencies.
1:40:02
We they really are our partners.
1:40:04
So, for example, the all of the members of our NYC best team receive training from the regulatory agencies on their rules and processes so that we can give up to date advice to business businesses.
1:40:16
Many of of our of our compliance advisers are former inspectors themselves, and we are in constant dialogue with the regulatory agencies, which themselves, you know, have they have a charter mandated mission, but they also appreciate the importance of small businesses to the city.
1:40:35
They're New Yorkers too.
1:40:36
Right?
1:40:36
And to, our economy and to this administration.
1:40:41
So I'm not aware of, like, a concentration of challenges with a particular agency's processes.
1:40:47
And Natasha's shaking her head.
1:40:49
She manages that team and oversees that work and also helps to manage the Small Business Advisory Commission.
1:40:56
So, no.
1:40:58
I can't point to that, council member chair Felice.
1:41:00
Boom.