Gjonaj angry with mayor’s comments on
small business during WNYC interview
BY JASON COHEN
Comments made last week
by Mayor Bill de Blasio have
Councilman Mark Gjonaj
steaming.
Gjonaj, chair of the small
business committee, has
worked hard to help the ailing
small businesses during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, on
May 22, the mayor made light
of the current state of small
businesses while appearing
on WNYC.
On Friday, a man named
Cassius from Brooklyn called
the Brian Lehrer show and
asked if the city was going to
let every small business that
isn’t a supermarket or bodega
get shut down.
“We have to get all businesses
back open,” Cassisus
said. “We’re on the precipice
of, you know, destroying the
whole city, basically.”
According to Reggie Johnson,
Gjonaj’s chief of staff, de
Blasio’s response was a stunner
and seemed out of touch.
“I’ve talked to lots and lots
of business leaders that especially
the smallest businesses
are very worried about their
futures, understandably, but
they also are hanging on and
they know that could be a
matter of months that they’ll
be back in action, and there’s
going to be a lot of pent up demand,”
the mayor said. “A lot
of people who are going to be
buying local, and as I talked to
people in sort of medium and
bigger businesses, they fully
intend to come back.
“So I don’t buy — I’m not
saying your question isn’t
heartfelt, but there’s been
a kind of doom-saying tendency
in some places lately,
Photo courtesy of the New York City Council
but the history of New York
City shows the ability of New
York City and its businesses to
come back very strong. Look
at the fi scal crisis, look at 9/11,
look at Sandy. Over and over
again you see people coming
back strong.”
While the mayor predicted
that things will start to resume
in June, Gjonaj is defi -
nitely not on the same page
with him.
“Mark was more than
surprised,” Johnson told the
Bronx Times. “He was just
kind of disappointed that the
person who is in charge of
protecting small businesses
doesn’t seem to get the hurt
and plight that businesses are
facing during this crisis.”
As only 1 percent of
COVID-19 relief loans from the
city went to small businesses
in the Bronx, Gjonaj could not
believe the mayor felt so confi -
dent about the revival of small
businesses.
On Tuesday, the mayor approved
four COVID-19 relief
bills sponsored by Gjonaj that
will help small businesses,
but Johnson stressed more
needs to be done. According to
Johnson, Gjonaj wants an additional
$100 million for small
businesses, but it must be divided
equally amongst the
boroughs.
“We need to do more to
protect small businesses as a
city,” Johnson said.
With the eviction moratorium
for the state up in August,
Johnson stressed that
the city needs to help small
businesses now. As the NYT
said 75 percent of small business
in the city won’t survive,
it is quite evident the mayor’s
comments are off-base, Johnson
said.
“Time is of the essence,”
Johnson said. “Leaders need
to lead. “The fact that he de
Blasio was so tone deaf during
this WNYC interview only
underscores the fact that more
needs to be done.”
BRONX TIMES REPORTER,BTR MAY 29-JUNE 4, 2020 19
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