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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Catherine Murcek, Worker Owner at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care and Scoliosis Collective
2:17:04
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146 sec
Catherine Murcek, a worker owner at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care and Scoliosis Collective, testified to urge continued support for the Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative (WCBDI) and to advocate for commercial rent stabilization. She emphasized the importance of supporting democratically run businesses and protecting jobs for diverse communities across New York City.
- Requested an enhancement of WCBDI funding to approximately $5,100,000
- Shared how the cooperative business structure helped her yoga studio remain resilient during the pandemic
- Highlighted the need for commercial rent stabilization to protect small businesses from displacement
Catherine Murcek
2:17:04
Thank you for the opportunity to testify online today.
2:17:07
My name is Katherine Merzek.
2:17:08
I'm a worker owner at Samamkaya Yoga Back Care and Scoliosis Collective.
2:17:13
We're a member of the New York City Network of Worker Co ops or NCNOC, which is, as you heard from Melod, a partner organization in the WCBDI initiative.
2:17:22
Your support of our community of democratically run businesses helps to protect and create jobs for women, immigrant workers, and communities of color across the five boroughs and in a wide array of industries.
2:17:35
I am testifying today to urge you to continue to support the great work of WCDI, enhancing their funding to their ask, which the specific number is in my written testimony, 5,100,000.0 approximately, and to support also commercial rent stabilization to protect New York City's Workers and small businesses from displacement.
2:17:58
My co op, Samim Kaya, is a very special little studio in Chelsea specializing in therapeutic yoga for back care with classes online and in studio.
2:18:08
I'm proud to say that my 19 other worker owners and I just celebrated ten years of democratically running the studio together in the same space the whole time.
2:18:17
To make yoga accessible to all ages and abilities, we used specialized rope walls and equipment, which incurred a hefty start up cost that we are still paying back.
2:18:27
Our co op business structure makes us unique among yoga studios in New York, and I believe it's one of the reasons we were more resilient throughout the pandemic than many of the other yoga studios which we sadly lost.
2:18:40
Even though the pandemic forced us to close our physical space, we were able to band together and decide as a team how we would pivot, divide the labor.
2:18:48
We worked together to keep the studio afloat while we made sure our teachers who most needed to be working could keep teaching online and make ends meet.
2:18:57
We were really grateful to have access to technical support from WCBDI partners and a couple small grants that are specific to work at coops.
2:19:06
One example is NICKNOC's Cooperative Sustainability Fund that allowed us to pay for consulting sessions with another coop.
Amanda Farías
2:19:13
Yeah.
2:19:14
It's not required.
Catherine Murcek
2:19:16
Okay.
2:19:17
There's more in my written testimony.
2:19:19
Just to wrap things up, please enhance WCUDI's funding, and please support commercial rent stabilization to ensure a just recovery in New York City for our wonderful community of small businesses.
2:19:30
Thank you.