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New York's Small Businesses Out Of Luck As Federal, City Aid Dry Up
By
Sophia Chang
Published Apr 17, 2020
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By
Sophia Chang
Published Apr 17, 2020
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The $350 billion in small business payroll loans promised by the federal government has been depleted in two weeks.
The federal Paycheck Protection Program, part of the CARES Act, was intended to help the country’s small businesses survive the economic turmoil that the coronavirus pandemic has wrought. The program encourages companies with fewer than 500 employees to retain their staff instead of pushing them onto unemployment rolls with payroll loans of up to $10 million, and is administered by local banks and financial lenders with a 100 percent guarantee by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
New York City’s Small Business Services began directing local business owners to the federal relief efforts as the city’s own initial emergency grants were exhausted.
But on Thursday the SBA announced it was no longer accepting new applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program or the Paycheck Protection Program.
“The SBA has processed more than 14 years’ worth of loans in less than 14 days. The Paycheck Protection Program is saving millions of jobs and helping America’s small businesses make it through this challenging time. The EIDL program is also providing much-needed relief to people and businesses,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza said in a joint statement Wednesday. “We urge Congress to appropriate additional funds for the Paycheck Protection Program—a critical and overwhelmingly bipartisan program—at which point we will once again be able to process loan applications, issue loan numbers, and protect millions more paychecks. The high demand we have seen underscores the need for hardworking Americans to have access to relief as soon as possible. We want every eligible small business to participate and get the resources they need.”
“By law, the SBA will not be able to issue new loan approvals once the programs experience a lapse in appropriations,” said Matt Coleman, regional spokesperson for the SBA, in a statement Thursday. Business owners who have already submitted applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. President Donald Trump's administration has asked for an additional $250 billion for the loans but Congress is deadlocked, according to reports.
Among the many criticisms of the CARES Act, the Payroll Protection Program in particular has been called poorly designed. FastCompany pointed out that the funds can only be used for payroll so business owners would have to rehire laid-off staffers, frequently for less money than the employees would make through unemployment insurance, in order to even qualify for the program. The Wall Street Journal reported that large restaurant and hotel companies were exempt from the 500-employee limit, so businesses like Ruth’s Hospitality Group — the corporation behind Ruth’s Chris Steak House — were able to apply for two of its subsidiaries to each receive $10 million. Shake Shack also received a $10 million payroll loan, Eater reported Friday.
“Big Wall Street-backed restaurant chains that pay their executives super-sized bonuses should not be the first served up SBA loans by this administration," said Derek Martin, a spokesperson for the watchdog group Accountable.US, told Politico. "What a slap in the face to the untold thousands of legitimate small businesses that will not survive this crisis, many because they couldn’t get the help they were promised from the president soon enough, if at all.”
New York City has also depleted its initial $10 million funds for the NYC Employee Retention Grant Program, which offered small businesses with fewer than five employees a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees.
“Based on concerns we heard in January and February, the City worked quickly to launch the NYC Employee Retention Grant and the NYC Business Continuity Loan Fund to support businesses, which were always intended as a bridge as we waited for federal support. The overwhelming needs of New York City's small business community can only be met by the resources of the federal government. SBS will continue advocating for the federal government to help our businesses which need immediate assistance. The City is continuously fighting for more support in the next stimulus to make our small businesses whole,” said Samantha Keitt, spokesperson for the city’s Department of Small Business Services.
The city is still processing applications that were submitted to the NYC Business Continuity Loan Fund, which had $20 million in funding and is now on “pause,” the SBS said.
According to a report in THE CITY, more than 15,000 businesses initially applied, and 8,500 completed applications for the Business Continuity Loan Fund. Of those, loan processors hired by the city estimate only about 600 applicants have qualified so far.
We checked back in with two small businesses whose owners previously spoke with Gothamist about their confusion over the financial offerings available from the city and federal government.
Mary Cleaver, owner of the Cleaver Co catering company in Brooklyn, said she was approved for one federal loan but missed out on other programs, including payroll loans for her farm that supplies her catering company.
“We have been notified by Spring Bank with whom we applied for the PPP that Cleaver Co has been approved. We have not yet seen the funds but are hopeful they are forthcoming. We have been on many webinars but the full definition and details of forgivable use is still evolving and we hope that they are worked out soon so that we can navigate correctly through the use thereof,” Cleaver said in an email. “We submitted the PPP application for our farm, Green Table Farms, a few days behind Cleaver Co and that one did not get into SBA under the first round of funding which ran out last night, but hopefully more funding will be approved and we will get that as well. We have not heard back anything about the EIDL loan - either the 10k emergency or the full 75k, and we just missed the NYC Continuity loan deadline by a few hours.”
Her catering company has launched frozen dinner deliveries as an alternate source of income.
Lena Imamura, co-founder of Name Glo neon design studio in Manhattan, said their company was “approved for the PPP loans as of today, but nothing else yet from the city or other federal SBA loan options.” Her company’s studio has also pivoted to making masks for first responders.
Tagged
COVID-19
coronavirus
small businesses
Sophia Chang
Sophia Chang is a former WNYC and Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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