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The Business Council of New York State supports S.4429 (Parker) / A.4921 (Blake), which directs the Empire State Development Corporation to provide information on their website related to assistance programs for small businesses and minority and women-owned business enterprises.
This bill provides access to resources that would help businesses survive, particularly during the current COVID-19/novel coronavirus pandemic. Information concerning the different business development and financial assistance programs offered by the state can provide a critical lifeline considering the many challenges that currently exist. The Partnership for New York City recently released a report that states most small businesses have less than three months’ worth of cash reserves, and that one third of them will not have the necessary means needed to reopen. When coupled with the struggles faced by Black-owned businesses as a result of the pandemic, where they have less than 14 days of cash available and where national figures state that 40 percent of those owners will never be able to reopen their business, access to information is crucial.
Access to capital is a major hurdle for many small and minority-owned businesses and the legislation provides a focus in this area that will be helpful. It ensures that existing loan programs from the state will become easier to access by publicly posting those resources. The information and resources that will be made available will help with economic opportunities that are desperately needed at this time.
For these reasons, The Business Council supports approval of S.4429 (Parker) / A.4921 (Blake).