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Q&A
Council Member Feliz questions SBS on small business support and accessibility compliance
0:53:36
·
7 min
Council Member Oswald Feliz engages in a detailed Q&A session with representatives from the Department of Small Business Services (SBS) regarding various programs and initiatives aimed at supporting small businesses and ensuring accessibility compliance. The discussion covers topics such as the proposed loan and grant program (Intro 282), the process for disbursing financial assistance, interest rates on loans, and the MyCity accessibility compliance web page.
- Feliz inquires about the mechanics of providing loans and grants to small businesses, including the involvement of third-party organizations and interest rates.
- The conversation explores SBS's online resources for accessibility compliance and how businesses are directed to obtain information on this topic.
- Feliz asks about the Commercial Lease Assistance Program and its role in helping businesses navigate ADA-related issues in lease agreements.
Oswald Feliz
0:53:36
Okay.
0:53:37
A few questions about specifically about Intro February, which would require that SBS create a program to provide lending, grants, and a lot more.
0:53:46
If implemented, what would the process be for getting those grants?
0:53:50
I know generally some agencies, they they could only provide grants through a nonprofit, aka not being able to provide it directly to the businesses.
0:53:59
So talk to us about that process.
0:54:01
And if implemented, how will the process look for this one could look for this one?
0:54:34
Can you provide the loans directly or the grants directly to the businesses?
0:54:38
Or would you have to go through a nonprofit or a chamber of commerce to bid?
0:55:04
For grants and loans.
0:55:04
Grants and loans.
0:55:04
So you said generally.
0:55:06
Are there any exceptions to that or is that a hard rule?
0:55:08
You have to obtain a nonprofit or any conduit rather than giving the loans and grants directly to the businesses.
0:55:15
And I'm only asking this because we all know how difficult it could be for small businesses to have to request from a nonprofit.
0:55:22
And then the nonprofit, it takes a very long time for them to get reimbursed.
0:55:26
So it could be very complicated for businesses to have to go through nonprofit, to then have to go through the agency to get that loan.
0:56:13
Okay.
0:56:14
Any interest charged in any of the loan programs that we've done?
0:56:25
And what's that interest rate more or less?
0:56:32
Can you provide a range?
0:56:33
Is it 5%, seven %?
0:56:54
Okay.
0:56:55
A few questions about the MyCity accessibility compliance web page, and then I'll pass it back to my co chair.
0:57:00
So the MyCity accessibility compliance web page includes guides on how to open and operate an accessible business.
0:57:07
Does SBS have any sense of how often this information is used by small business owners?
0:58:04
What are the different ways that SBS receives inquiries about accessibility compliance?
0:58:09
Is it receiving calls through 311?
0:58:11
And also, do you have any stats related to that?
0:58:14
And also, if people have questions about accessibility, where are the businesses directed to?
0:59:21
So we have a few programs that aimed at helping small businesses with legal issues, including the Commercial Lease Assistance Program.
0:59:29
Does that program help tenants or commercial tenants or small businesses negotiate leases with issues and clauses related to ADA laws?
1:00:28
Do we have any data on how often the Commercial Lease Assistance Program engages with small businesses on this issue, ADA, and also other city laws?
1:00:59
Alright I'll pause here.
1:01:01
I'll acknowledge briefly Councilmember Krishnan who has also joined us and I'll pass it back to the Culture Williams for questions.
Haris Khan
0:54:05
Thank you, council member.
0:54:06
We generally work with community lenders to serve communities that are vulnerable.
0:54:11
When we launch loan programming, that means CDFI institutions and make sure that breach is broad based.
0:54:18
And so in any loan program that we launch, that's one of the avenues we'd use as a mechanism to make sure it's not limited to one area.
0:54:25
It's spread across the geography of New York City, reaching diverse immigrant communities.
0:54:29
And all New Yorkers can have an opportunity to benefit from those programs.
0:54:43
Generally when we stand up loan programs, we'd have to work to identify a fund administrator.
0:54:49
That administrator would then be the conduit to disbursement of loans, which would happen at the CDFI level, so a more localized partner that could better reach New Yorkers and all five of us.
0:55:32
So not necessarily a nonprofit to get the loan itself.
0:55:36
It's just they're the underwriter for the loan.
0:55:38
And I'll give the example of the NYC Opportunity Fund, which was the administration's historic $85,000,000 loan program that served over 1,000 small businesses, a majority of them BIPOC New Yorkers.
0:55:51
And that program was administered and run by SBS.
0:55:55
There was a fund administrator in place that partnered with eight CDFI organizations to make sure the reach was broad based.
0:56:03
And we at SBS would then provide technical assistance to those borrowers to make sure they can complete their application package, know what's required, and are ready to compete for those opportunities.
0:56:17
Yes.
0:56:18
All of our loan programs that the city has co developed with the private sector has an interest rate associated with it.
0:56:27
Depends on the market, depends on the partners, and the level of investment that we've secured for that loan program.
0:56:35
I think it really depends on the market at the time, the interest rates at the time, the partners that we've secured.
0:56:42
And so it will really vary based on the timing that we're in when we're launching such a loan program, CTL funding that's associated with it that could be leveraged for private sector fundraising.
0:57:12
The MyCity Business Accessibility page has been used by hundreds of New Yorkers that have reached that information.
0:57:20
We launched it in January.
0:57:21
It's refreshed, updated content that was developed in partnership with sister agencies.
0:57:28
We're really excited that we have this in place.
0:57:30
But it's not the only thing we do to make sure businesses can be aware of resources available to them.
0:57:35
We also organize workshops.
0:57:37
And we're really excited that on May 29 at our New York City Small Business Month Expo, we'll have MOPD tabling on-site for small businesses as well as having CCHR delivering a Know Your Obligations workshop in person.
0:57:51
And so we're excited that thousands of New Yorkers on May 29 can benefit from these resources on-site, while our partnership and resources online and other forms of workshop and outreach continues every single day.
0:58:20
Yes, Councilman.
0:58:21
So generally, folks reach out to us when they're interested in one of our services, not when they're inquiring about a specific regulation or specific compliance matter.
0:58:31
They reach out to us when they're about to open their business, or they're trying to expand their business, or they're trying to avail themselves of available city resources that can help their business grow.
0:58:42
And so that's generally the point of interaction we have as an agency with a business owner or an entrepreneur in New York City.
0:58:47
And in the course of that interaction, if a business owner raises accessibility related challenges, then we've got this resource that our teams have developed in this administration, the Business Accessibility Web Page.
0:58:58
We've also got some general understanding of accessibility.
0:59:01
So whenever our team is able to provide information that is relevant and helpful, they will.
0:59:06
Whenever the business owner or the entrepreneur is requesting information that might be more tailored, more curated, more requires a deeper level of understanding and expertise, that's when we'll pass it to our colleagues in MLPD and CCHR.
0:59:40
Yes.
0:59:40
So that program helps business owners with commercial lease related issues.
0:59:45
That means they could help business owners get start a lease agreement with the landlord.
0:59:50
They could help them in a renewal process with the landlord.
0:59:53
They could also help them understand and navigate landlord tenant conflicts and issues that are pre litigation.
0:59:58
And so we're proud that that resource exists, is available, was baselined by this administration.
1:00:04
Just last fiscal year, over 800 New Yorkers benefited from that service.
1:00:08
And that service includes an understanding of the rights and obligations in the lease agreement.
1:00:13
So if there are pieces of the lease that relate to storefront improvement or other renovations that may relate to ADA, the attorneys are able to advise the business owner, make sure they understand what they're signing up for before they sign the lease agreement.
1:00:40
It's difficult to speak to the specific engagement between the attorney and the business owner due to attorney client privilege.
1:00:47
But we're proud that it's over 800 New Yorkers that benefit from this service.
1:00:51
And certainly, if they bring up matters related to the ADA as it pertains to the lease agreement, it's certainly part of the service that the lawyers provide.
Kitty Chan
0:55:01
For grants and loans.