Business
Minority- and womenowned
businesses in New
York in serious danger of
collapse due to COVID-19
York City Employee Retention Grant, which
provided small businesses with loans to retain
their employees if they had lost 25% of
their business. Stringer said that just 15 of
the surveyed applicants received the grants.
Moreover, a quarter of all surveyed M/
WBEs never applied for federal or city
funding at all. Stringer said the respondents
cited barriers such as restrictive application
criteria, high interest rates, lack of outreach
or awareness, and the exhaustion of available
funds by the time they submitted their
application.
Twenty percent of the surveyed M/WBEs
said they were denied approval of federal or
city funding due to reasons such as a low
credit score, restrictive criteria or exhausted
available funding. Some said they were rejected,
but never provided an explanation
as to why.
“These fi ndings are alarming and underscore
the structural inequities facing M/
WBEs and the urgent need for immediate
action and relief before M/WBEs in our city
are decimated,” Stringer said in a July 10
statement. “We will redouble our commitment
to holding city agencies accountable
and continue our efforts to identify and
dismantle systemic barriers to participation.
Our economy is strongest when it is
equitable and inclusive, and our road to
recovery must refl ect those values.”
The comptroller said he would revise the
contract registration process to include “new
transparency and accountability measures …
requiring the city to provide documentation,
such as goal-setting worksheets and market
analysis, on M/WBE goals in city contracts.”
PHOTO REUTERS/SHANNON STAPLETON
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
If a survey that City Comptroller Scott
Stringer conducted is any indication,
minority- and women-owned businesses
(M/WBEs) across New York City
are having the most diffi cult time weathering
the economic storm wrought by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Stringer announced on July 10 the results
of a survey of more than 500 M/WBEs
across the fi ve boroughs, which concluded
that 85% of owners indicated they won’t
be able to survive the next six months with
their current resources. Thirty percent of
respondents indicated they may not make
it past the next 30 days given the economic
hardship.
The economy was already heading south
when the COVID-19 pandemic offi cially
arrived in New York in March. Deprived
of customers after capacity decreases and
shutdown orders took effect, non-essential
businesses had no choice but to close indefi -
nitely — many of them for good.
But businesses owned by women and
people of color bore the brunt of the economic
downturn. To make matters worse,
Stringer said, these businesses also had even
greater diffi culty procuring economic aid
once it became available.
Stringer’s survey found that just 40 M/
WBEs had applied for the New York City
Business Continuity Loan, which provided
up to $75,000 for a business that lost 60% of
its revenue during the pandemic. However,
only six of the 40 applicants were approved.
Forty-eight M/WBEs sought the New
A shopkeeper works inside his retail store as the phase one reopening of New
York City continues during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
on June 9, 2020.
Making Sense of the Census
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Why The
Census
Counts
By Julie Menin, Director of
NYC Census 2020
By now, hopefully, you’ve
heard that the 2020 Census is
underway that it’s safe and easy
to fill out, and that it will shape
our communities for the next decade.
You may have even heard
that the census determines our
representation in government,
and how hundreds of billions
of dollars are distributed to our
communities. But you might be
thinking, how does that affect
me?
Let’s take a step back and
think about it in the context of a
budget. Recently, the Mayor and
City Council finalized our budget
for fiscal year 2021, sparking
significant conversation about
how and on what our public
dollars are spent. The federal
government’s budget, which is
in the trillions, is much larger
than New York City’s budget,
and we’re going to need every
federal dollar we can get to help
close the gaping holes we have
as a result of insufficient federal
stimulus. That means we cannot
miss out on a single cent of
the $1.5 trillion in federal funds
are allocated to states and cities
across the country based on the
census, which means that if we
want the federal government’s
spending to be based on true
need, hard data -- and focused
on our communities that have
suffered so much -- we must all
participate in the census.
So to make sure everyone understands
just what’s at stake,
let’s talk about what the census
funds and why it matters for
you.
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The census determines millions
in funding for Title I, special
education, Head Start, child
care, and more. In 2017, the city
received $700 million in Title 1
funding.
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The census helps fund the
Department of Housing Preservation
& Development (HPD),
which administers nearly
40,000 Section 8 vouchers and
helps fund new affordable housing
priorities.
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The census helps provide
funding for meals for seniors
either at senior centers or delivered
to their homes, as well as
nutrition education, transportation,
legal, and employment
services for seniors.
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The census helps provide the
critical funding they need to
serve you and your neighbors.
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The census helps fund antipoverty
and community revitalization
services, including
employment, education, financial
literacy, housing, nutrition,
health services, and countless
other social services.
In sum, if you live in NYC, you
are almost guaranteed to be affected
by the census. And that’s
why it’s so critical that we’re all
counted. Remember, the more of
us are counted, the more funding
we get. So help do your part - get
counted today, spread the word,
and let’s make sure our communities
get the funding that is
rightfully theirs.
“Making Sense of the Census”
is a weekly column from Julie
Menin, Director of NYC Census
2020. Every week we will be publishing
pieces from Julie and guest
authors laying out the facts and
answering tough questions about
this year’s census. Fill out the census
now at my2020census.gov.
10 July 16, 2020 Schneps Media
/my2020census.gov
