Loaning a hand
BY BEN VERDE
A pair of Park Slope pols
launched a small business relief
loan program on May 18,
offering mom and pop shops
interest-free assistance as
they ride out the COVID-19
pandemic.
“One of the heartbreaking
parts of this crisis has been
walking past the darkened
doors of many beloved neighborhood
businesses,” said
Councilman Brad Lander,
who partnered with Assemblyman
Robert Carroll to
jumpstart the program.
The loans are available
only to businesses within the
39th Council District, which
spans from Cobble Hill to
Borough Park, and the Park
Slope-anchored 44th Assembly
District, which also
reaches into Windsor Terrace
and Kensington.
Businesses who have
faced significant losses during
the pandemic, have revenues
of $1 million or less,
and have 15 or fewer employees
10 COURIER LIFE, MAY 22-28, 2020
can qualify for the program,
which will provide
two different types of relief
for Brooklyn businesses:
zero percent interest loans
of up to $25,000, and loans
between $3,000 and $7,500
for independent contractors
and small business owners
who have been forced to shut
their doors during the state’s
stay-at-home order.
The loans will be repayable
in equal installments over the
course of 24 to 36 months after
a three month grace period,
according to Lander’s offi ce,
and no guarantors or collateral
are required for either
type of loan.
“In conversations with
small business owners in my
district, I’ve heard over and
over how diffi cult it is to get
and then use the federal relief
programs for small businesses,”
said Lander, whose
initiative comes on the heels
of the Brooklyn Chamber of
Commerce’s small business
loan program for businesses
shut out of the Federal Government’s
Paycheck Protection
Program.
As of late last month, a majority
of the borough’s small
businesses had not received
federal assistance, according
to the Chamber.
The new program, which
Landers and Carroll launched
in partnership with the Hebrew
Free Loan Society and
The Change Reaction, aims to
help fi ll the gaps in the relief
offered by the federal and city
government, according to the
lawmakers.
“I speak with a variety of
small businesses every day
and without fail each business
owner reminds me of
how important working capital
is to re-starting their business,”
said Carroll. “These
loans will be invaluable to
businesses that have been
shutout of other government
programs.”
Brad Lander and Robert Carroll have launced a program to help local
small businesses reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsplash
Slope lawmakers launch small biz loan program
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