April 24–30, 2020 Brooklyn Paper • www.BrooklynPaper.com • (718) 260-2500 3
Broadway Stages
wants to thank all
those on the frontline,
battling this
pandemic, every day.
Thank you for your
sacrifi ces, your dedication,
your compassion and
your resilience during this
diffi cult time.
You are our heroes and we
will forever be grateful.
Bad news for the little guy
Most small biz received no federal stimulus funding
Cold comfort
Locals install outdoor fridge
with free food in Bed-Stuy
Your Dedicated Service.
Our Deepest Gratitude.
We’re grateful to the countless essential workers
going above and beyond to support the health,
safety and strength of our communities during this
unprecedented time. As a bank that’s served this
community for nearly 100 years, we can’t begin to
thank you enough.
Every day, you rise to the challenge.
And every day, we’re inspired by all you do.
Thank you.
www.ridgewoodbank.com
© 2020 Ridgewood Savings Bank | Member FDIC
By Rose Adams
Brooklyn Paper
While large companies rack
up millions of dollars in funds
from the federal government’s
coronavirus-induced stimulus
package, most of Brooklyn’s
small businesses have been left
out to dry as they battle significant
financial losses from the
stay-at-home orders, according
to a recent study.
At least 84-percent of businesses
that applied to the Payment
Protection Program have
not received any funding, according
to the study from the
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce,
which surveyed nearly
300 small business owners
borough-wide. The number
is higher among minority and
women businesses owners —
90-percent of whom said they
had received no federal assistance
as of April 17.
“It’s frustrating on many
levels,” said the chamber’s
president, Randy Peers.
The Payment Protection
Program — which Congress
cobbled together in late March
to stem significant unemployment
— offers loans to
small businesses struggling
to pay their expenses during
the COVID-19 outbreak. The
loans from the $349 billion
program will be completely
forgiven if they are used for
payroll costs, interest on mortgages,
rent, and utilities.
The program initially
seemed like a blessing for
small businesses and employees
struggling during the
COVID-19 outbreak, but a series
of bureaucratic shortfalls
left needy businesses without
aid — and large companies
swimming in it.
“The program had a lot
of potential, but it fell flat,”
Peers said.
One major problem
stemmed from the application
process, which required business
owners to apply through
an approved lender or federally
insured institution, such
as their bank. However, most
banks prioritized the applications
of businesses with
existing lines of credit, putting
many smaller, minorityowned
companies at a disadvantage,
Peers said.
“It was chaotically rolled
out from the Small Business
Administration to the
banks themselves,” he said.
“The banks were left to interpret
things to the best of
their ability, and in some
places they went with where
there was less risk.”
Communication was another
common problem. One
business owner, who applied
for a Payment Protection Program
loan one day after the
program was rolled out on
April 3, said that her bank
did not respond to inquiries
about the status of her application.
“By 2 o’clock on April 4, I
submitted the application in its
entirety,” said Natasha Amott,
who owns a cooking supply
store called Whisk in Williamsburg
and Cobble Hill.
“I never heard back.”
Amott claims that businesses
that applied after she
did received approval, even
though there were no problems
with her application —
which later mysteriously vanished
from the bank’s records
after the program’s funding
dried up on April 17.
“It took me calling at least
5 times that day … and at the
end I was told, ‘There’s no
SBA number associated with
your loan,'” she said.
In addition to the problems
within banks, the program’s
loose guidelines allowed some
larger, publicly-traded companies
to apply for loans.
Congress will likely approve
another round of funding
for the program, and
Amott hopes that she will
receive funding, having established
a closer relationship
with her bank. But she
worries about the hundreds
of other businesses without
her connections.
“It took a lot of polite pestering,”
she said.
The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce reported that
less that 84-percent of small businesses in Brooklyn
received funds from the stimulus package. Meanwhile,
national chain Shake Shack got $10 million.
File photo by Matthew Perlman
By Rose Adams
Brooklyn Paper
A local community group
erected a fully-stocked outdoor
refrigerator on Van Buren
Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant,
where hungry passersby can
pick up food free of charge.
“It’s got a variety of fresh
produce, things you’d find in
a grocery store,” said John
Stephanian, who volunteers
with Community Solidarity,
an org that hosts free food markets.
“Usually we stock it four
or five times a day.”.
Since its installation, the
fridge has been a hit among
locals, particularly as the
COVID-19 outbreak has increased
food insecurity and
has made some Brooklynites
fearful of crowded grocery
stores.
A community organization opened a fridge full of
free food in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Thadeaus Umpster
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