12 JANUARY 16, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Winning the battle for small business
They toasted, they cheered, they
shook hands and patted backs,
celebrating the salvation of a
nearly 200-year-old bar in Queens
threatened with closure.
Victory flowed through Neir’s
Tavern Friday night like taps full
of beer after a deal was reached to
keep the endangered business afloat.
Just a day earlier, news spread that
Neir’s was about to fold under the
crushing weight of higher rents.
The impending doom of such a
grand and historic institution shook
many heads around town -- and
shook city government and business
leaders into action. By Friday
night, a pact was reached to keep the
good times rolling at Neir’s. Mayor
Bill de Blasio even visited Neir’s to
announce the pact, reached with
the help of the Queens Chamber
of Commerce and local lawmakers,
and clang glasses with the faithful.
Indeed, it was a sweet victory. The
bitter reality, however, is that Neir’s
Tavern is but one business in a city
where many other small businesses
are suffering and straining under
EDITORIAL
More small businesses across New York City need the same kind of break that Neir’s Tavern just received.
Photo by Dean Moses
the crippling weight of high rents.
The majority of these stories go
virtually untold until it’s too late
for them to be saved. Fortunately,
it doesn’t have to be this way.
The City Council has a bill called
the Small Business Jobs Survival
Act, which seeks to help reduce rent
costs by empowering businesses
with stability. It would enable them
to agree to long-term leases which
keep costs level, and ensure that
they have either a chance to succeed
or continue thriving.
Rent regulation for commercial
space is long overdue. Yet the Small
Business Jobs Survival Act is stalled
at City Hall, the victim of special interests,
according to the bill’s most
ardent defenders.
Small businesses in New York City
need the same kind of break Neir’s
Tavern just received.
The city’s Department of Small
Business Services notes that 98
percent of the 220,000 businesses
in New York City have fewer than
100 employees; 89 percent have
fewer than 20 employees. Every
one of these businesses, and every
one of their employees, are critical
to the vitality and success of our
economy.
It’s time for City Hall to get on
board with the Small Business Jobs
Survival Act, and clear the way for
common-sense rent regulations that
will keep small businesses thriving,
and jobs secure, for years to come.
THE HOT TOPIC
STORY:
‘Handshake’ deal will keep historic
Nier’s Tavern open for business in
Woodhaven
SUMMARY:
The Queens Chamber of Commerce
announced Friday night a “handshake
agreement” between Nier’s Tavern
owner Loycent Gordon and property
owners, Ken and Henry Shi, to keep the
historic, 190-year-old business open.
REACH:
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ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
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