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
signifi cant losses during the
pandemic, have revenues of $1
million or less, and have 15 or
fewer employees 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
Put a ring on it!
Domino Park debuts social distancing circles
COURIER L 4 IFE, MAY 22-28, 2020
$3,000 and $7,500 for
independent contractors and
small business owners who
have been forced to shut their
doors during the state’s stayat
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
Brad Lander and Robert Carroll have launced a program to help local
small businesses reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsplash
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.”
Slope lawmakers launch small biz loan program
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
No need to reinvent the wheel!
Greenspace stewards at Domino
Park have painted eight-foot-wide
circles on their lawns to help parkgoers
maintain social distance as
they fl ock to open spaces during
the summer months, said the director
of the Williamsburg waterfront
meadow.
“We’re taking the issue really
seriously and we wanted to fi gure
out ways to keep the park open,”
said Michael Lampariello.
The creative enforcement effort
was hatched on May 15, when Lampariello
and his colleagues began
marking the circles six feet apart
from each other — and parkgoers
immediately took to the idea.
“We weren’t sure if it was going
to work, but as soon as we put
the circles down, folks were going
to them and started policing themselves,”
he said.
If the popular six-acre space
on River Street — which privately
owned by developers Two Trees
— didn’t get overcrowding under
control, Mayor Bill de Blasio had
threatened to enforce limits on the
number of people allowed to enter.
But, as temperatures reached
summertime levels over the weekend,
the innovative painted circles
helped limit social distancing violations
enough to ensure everyone
had unfettered access to the space.
“It was a great spring day in the
park,” he said. “I was talking to one
family and the dad was just clearly
excited to get out with his kids.”
Parkgoers took full advantage of the new painted circles meant to help enforce social distancing mesures. Photo by Todd Maisel