
BY JASON COHEN
State Senator Alessandra Biaggi,
together with the New York State Senate
Majority Conference, advanced
legislation yesterday to support small
businesses that are hurting due to the
pandemic.
The bills include protecting small
businesses from eviction and foreclosure
with the COVID-19 Emergency
Protect Our Small Business Act, protecting
restaurants from third-party
delivery fees, implementing thirdparty
restaurant posting requirements,
promoting the shared work
eligibility program, freezing unemployment
insurance rates and establishing
a partial-unemployment system.
“The pandemic has fi nancially
devastated so many of the small businesses
at the heart of our communities,”
Biaggi said. “In order to rebuild
our local economies and revitalize
our neighborhoods, we must provide
our small businesses with the fi nancial
relief and market protection that
they need to recover and remain open.
I am proud to join my colleagues in
the Senate to pass legislation that will
support District 34’s small businesses,
and thank the bill sponsors for their
leadership to move this package forward.”
The bills advanced by the Senate
Majority and co-sponsored by Senator
Biaggi, include:
Small Business Eviction and Foreclosure
Moratorium: This bill, S.471A,
sponsored by Senator Anna Kaplan,
establishes the COVID-19 Emergency
Protect Our Small Business Act to protect
small businesses with COVID-19
related fi nancial hardships from eviction
and foreclosure until May 1.
Third-Party Restaurant Posting:
This bill, S.1630A, sponsored by Senator
Diane Savino, prohibits any third
party food delivery platform from listing,
selling or advertising products of
any food service establishment without
a written agreement with them.
Restricting Third-Party Delivery
Fees: This bill, S.1554B, sponsored by
Senator Brian Kavanagh, creates a
maximum limit for the total fee that
can be charged to a food service establishment
by a third-party food delivery
service (such as Grubhub, Seamless,
Postmates, Doordash, etc.)
COMMUNITY
CHIROPRATIC
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 24 AN. 22-28, 2021 BTR
Increased Outreach From DOL on
the Shared Work Program: This bill,
S.18A, sponsored by Senator Shelley
Mayer, creates a requirement for the
Department of Labor to increase their
efforts to provide information to employers
about shared work program
eligibility and have information available
on the Department’s website. The
shared work program can help reduce
layoffs and is fully funded by the
federal CARES Act during the pandemic.
Freezing Employers Unemployment
Insurance Premiums: This bill,
S.1197, sponsored by Senator Roxanne
Persaud, freezes New York State’s unemployment
insurance experience
rating for one year for layoffs and closures
that occurred due to COVID-19.
This will prevent signifi cant increases
in costs to employers who have experienced
higher unemployment rates in
2020.
Partial Unemployment Insurance:
This bill, S.1042A, sponsored by Senator
Jessica Ramos, establishes a system
of partial-unemployment. This
would shift the current calculation
that any day of work leads to a 25 percent
reduction in benefi ts and instead
would reduce benefi ts by an amount
proportional with the amount earned.
This legislation will help incentivize
part-time work by reducing the disincentive
that a day of work will lead to
a disproportionate reduction of benefi
ts.
BY JASON COHEN
On the birthday of the late
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., Triboro Center staff
got together with residents to
create a “Dream” project.
Residents crafted their
own unique dream piece using
hands reaching out from a
center to include the thoughts
from the residents.
“The power of the words of
Dr. King resonates year after
year and it never gets old, especially
these days when we need
him more than ever,” said Rose
Ferreira, recreation director
at Triboro Center and Centers
Health Care’s Co-Corporate Director
of Recreation. “Many
of us weren’t around when Dr.
King spoke on civil rights and
then died tragically in 1968.
Nevertheless, he will always
be in our hearts.”
Following the MLK project,
residents were then treated to a
delicious lunch of chicken and
waffl es.
Biaggi and the Senate help
pass legislative package to
help support small businesses
Triboro Center
celebrates MLK Day
of Throggs Neck
Kenneth P. Gonoud D.C.