C RY D E R
P O I N T
JANUARY 7
PCCC leads national effort to include
co-ops in the PPP Program
l-r: PCCC Executives Mark Ulrich, V.P.; Janice Schreibersdorf, Secretary; Michael Kurtz, Treasurer; Warren Schreiber, co-President; Geoffrey Mazel, Esq., Executive Member/
Counsel; Bob Friedrich, co-President
WWW.QNS.COM | JANUARY 2021 | CRYDER POINT COURIER 7
BY GEOFFREY MAZEL, ESQ.
On Dec. 27, 2020, President Donald
Trump finally signed a coronavirus stimulus
relief bill. This bill includes relief for a
wide range of Americans, including $600
direct relief checks for qualified people;
relief for the airline industry and restaurant
industry; extension of supplemental
unemployment benefits; and may other
provisions. The legislation is over 5,000
pages in length.
Tucked away in this legislation is muchneeded
relief for cooperative housing
corporations. This legislation specifically
makes co-ops eligible for forgivable loans
under the Payment Protection Program.
The inclusion of co-ops in this legislation
was the result of a long, hard battle,
led by a Queens-based organization,
the President’s Co-op & Condo Council
(“PCCC”). The PCCC is a residential cooperative
advocacy organization. While
they have vast experience on local issues
with the New York City Council and New
York State Legislature, they had to reach
out to a national network of organizations
to push for this legislation.
The Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”)
was part of the original CARES Act passed
by the U.S. Congress and it provided forgivable
loans to small businesses in March
2020. Since the COVID pandemic was
raging at this time, this program provided
a glimmer of financial relief to the suffering
co-op community. Obviously, PPP
loans would provide much-needed relief
to co-op residents who have been hit hard
by the COVID-19 crisis, especially in New
York City, the epicenter of the pandemic
at that point in time.
However, on April 2, 2020, the tens of
thousands of co-op residents in our area
and the 1.5 million co-op residents in this
country were devastated to learn that the
U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)
issued an Interim Final Rule stating that
the Payroll Protection Program excluded
“passive entities,” which would include
residential cooperative corporations. This
ruling unfairly carved residential co-ops
out of this critical relief program. The
PCCC took immediate action to right this
tremendous injustice.
At that time, the PCCC spearheaded a
national coalition of co-op advocates, including
elected officials and sister co-op
organizations. The feedback was immediate
and effective. On April 22, 2020,
Northeast Queens Councilman Paul Vallone
introduced a resolution calling on
Congress and President Trump to expand
the CARES Act and Payroll Protection
Program to include considerations for
residential cooperatives and condominiums,
allowing them to access critical PPP
loans processed by the U.S. Small Business
Administration.
In May, 2020, as a result of the support of
Congress members Grace Meng and Tom
Suozzi and the Queens Congressional
Delegation, the House of Representatives
passed the Heroes Act, which included
explicit language that would qualify coops
for PPP loans. Obviously, the biggest
hurdle was yet to come — passing this legislation
in the United States Senate.
Thereafter, the PCCC worked closely
with New York Senator Chuck Schumer’s
office to ensure that any stimulus package
in the U.S. Senate would include co-ops
in the PPP Lending Program. Senator
Schumer met with the PCCC personally
and fought doggedly for our co-op residents
to ensure that co-ops were included
in any further stimulus package. On Dec.
21, 2020, Senator Schumer announced
that co-ops would finally become eligible
for forgivable PPP loans as part of the new
$900 billion stimulus package hammered
out by House and Senate. Finally, on Dec.
27, 2020, this legislation was signed into
law by the president.
Co-op residents throughout the city are
relieved that they can now enjoy some
financial relief because of this important
program.
“Co-ops are facing the same severe revenue
problems as other business concerns.
They are suffering declining revenues and
increased expenses. It was a critical victory
that they are now included in the PPP
program,” said Bob Friedrich, co-president
of the PCCC.
“As a result of this injustice, the PCCC,
along with co-op advocacy groups across
the nation, made their voices heard loud
and clear in Congress,” added Warren
Schreiber, co-president of the PCCC.
At this point, the bill will require the
issuance of guidelines from the Small
Business Administration, which is expected
sometime in January 2021. It will
be at that time that co-ops will be able to
discern if they meet all eligibility requirements.
Time will tell the true effects of
this legislation on the co-op community,
but the passage of this legislation on the
national stage is the result of the hard
work and determination of the efforts of
the Queens co-op owners who fought so
diligently on this issue.
Geoffrey Mazel, Esq., is counsel to the
President’s Co-op & Condo Council
/WWW.QNS.COM
