Mike Surlina by his semi-trailer
AIRPORT VOICE, APRIL 2020 33
Financial Assistance Programs
Employee retention, Biz continuity
1-NYC Employee Retention
Grant Program
To help small businesses deal
with the impact of COVID-19, the
City has launched the Employee Retention
Grant Program to help retain
employees as businesses face
decreased revenue.
This program is available to
New York City businesses with one
to four employees that can demonstrate
at least a 25% decrease in revenue
as a result of COVID-19.
Eligible businesses will receive
a grant covering up to 40% of their
payroll for two months. Businesses
can access up to $27,000.
Who Can Apply?
Businesses, including non-profits,
must:
Be located within the five boroughs
of New York City
Demonstrate that the COVID-19
outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease
in revenue
Employ 1-4 employees in total
across all locations
Have been in operation for at
least 6 months
Have no outstanding tax liens or
legal judgments
Revenue Loss
To calculate the revenue impact
of COVID-19, we will compare average
revenue for two months in 2020
(after the COVID-19 impact) to both:
average revenue for the same
two month period in 2019, and
average monthly revenue based
on total 2019 revenue.
We will check to see if either calculation
shows at least a 25% decrease
in revenue
Supporting documents
To verify the loss of revenue, you
will need to upload:
Financial documents for two
months in 2020 demonstrating revenue
decrease due to COVID-19
Financial documents showing
your revenue for the same two
months in 2019 (unless you were not
in business at that time)
Financial documents showing
your revenue for the full 2019 calendar
year
Financial documents can include:
point-of-sales reports, bank
statements, quarterly sales tax filings,
2019 tax returns, or CPA-certified
profit & loss statements.
To determine your grant
amount, you will need to upload:
Your most recent two months of
payroll records
To process your grant, you will
need to upload:
A signed Participation Affidavit
verifying that you are eligible for
the program and that you are applying
in order to retain your employees
Your bank account information
Revenue Loss
You can apply for the program
by following the steps below:
Review our program guidelines
and determine if your business is
eligible.
Gather the appropriate documents.
Visit SBS Connect and log in to
your account to begin your application.
Apply Here
https://sbsconnect.nyc.gov/Sign
In?ReturnUrl=%2Fcovid%2Feligib
ility%2F
2-NYC Small Business Continuity
Fund
Businesses with fewer than 100
employees who have seen sales decreases
of 25% or more will be eligible
for zero-interest loans of up
to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in
profit.
Eligibility Criteria for the NYC
Small Business Continuity Fund
Businesses must:
Be located within the five boroughs
of New York City
Demonstrate that the COVID-19
outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease
in revenue
Employ 99 employees or fewer in
total across all locations
Demonstrate ability to repay the
loan
Have no outstanding tax liens or
legal judgements
SBA Disaster Loan Assiatance
https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/
Congressman Meeks says that a
company does not have to have preexisting
relationship with a bank
to apply through a bank of your
choice.
As part of the applications, you
will be required to demonstrate a
revenue decrease by providing documentation
such as: point-of-sales
reports, bank statements,
quarterly sales tax filings, 2019
tax returns, or CPA-certified profit
& loss statements. You can begin to
gather these documents in preparation.
JFK trucker waits 5 days
Sleeps in truck awaiting freight
BY JEFF YAPALATER
BIP Freight’s Mike
Surlina waits for a new
freight shipment to be
consigned at JFK Airport.
His original load
was cancelled and now
has waited 5 days for
another consignment.
He was paid $250 for
a cancellation, now sits
in his semi-trailer tractor,
eats cheap fast food
and hopes for a load back
to his home base in Chicago. Mike is one of the many stories of drivers
in the cargo business that endure long drives, uncertain wait times for
cargo, traffic congestion, food on the run, and sleep in their trucks while
they provide a valuable service moving goods from airports to cities in
need of food, equipment, and more recently critical medical supplies.
According to his dispatcher, the cargo business has slowed considerably
except for medical shipments, so drivers like Mike are having to wait
around in their rigs for consignments for other goods.
Airforwarders applaud CARES Act.
Association calls for more relief
The CARES Act delivers $2.2
trillion in direct payments to Americans,
provides loans and grants for
businesses and gives states muchneeded
money for public health,
personal protective equipment
(PPE) and to help first hospitals,
medical centers, doctors and other
first responders on the front line of
this accelerating pandemic.
$2.2 trillion will help American
businesses and consumers, but lack
of specific language for forwarders
is worrisome, needs addressing.
The Airforwarders Association
joins all Americans as we thank
Congress for their speedy passage,
first in the Senate and then the
House, of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief
and Economic (CARES) Act.
Clearly this continues to be an
evolving situation and while specific
provisions the Airforwarders
Association called for in our letter
are not in this round of legislation,
we are actively pursuing inclusion
of relief specifically for freight forwarders
and their affiliates in subsequent
upcoming COVID-19 legislative
initiatives.
The AfA’s letter was sent to the
White House and the Majority and
Minority leadership in both houses
and relevant committees. We laid
out in detail what we felt our members
could benefit from including
regulatory relief, financial assistance
and the continued assurances
of the availability of affordable and
sufficient air cargo lift in the coming
days and weeks ahead.
“Where other air cargo industry
stakeholders including aircraft
manufacturers, airlines, airports
and ground handlers were specifically
cited and had billions of
dollars specifically allocated, the
freight forwarder who serves as the
key intermediary between shippers
and those entities went unmentioned,”
says Brandon Fried, AfA
Executive Director.
“Without question, we understand
the importance of a viable,
functioning air cargo system to
support both the current relief efforts
and the future economic recovery,
but it is disconcerting to the
point of negligence that our voices
as the businesses acting as the hub
to this wheel of commerce went unfunded.”
The Airforwarders Association
believes firmly that the CARES Act
will not be the last piece of legislation
required to support America
during and after this pandemic.
Even as this becomes law, we have
already contacted the offices of specific
Representatives and Senators
who have supported air cargo and
freight forwarders in the past to enlist
their help in ensuring that we
are implicitly included by name at
this critical time in our industry.
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