WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES AUGUST 30, 2018 13
GOING ‘FAST
FORWARD’ TO
NOWHERE
NYC Transit President Andy Byford’s
proposed $37 billion, 10-year
“Fast Forward Plan” to create a
world-class subway and bus system
within five years is little more
than a fundraising prospectus for
potential transportation investors.
Here’s why.
Let us assume the next MTA Five-
Year 2020 - 2024 Capital Program
Plan starts out at $30 billion. First
they need $2.265 billion, bringing
the total local share of funding
for Second Avenue Subway Phase
2 (96th to 125th Streets) up to $4
billion. This is necessary to leverage
$2 billion in Federal Transit
Administration New Starts dollars
to support the total $6 billion project
cost.
Another $1 billion each will be
needed to complete fully funding
the $11.2 billion LIRR East Side
Access to Grand Central Terminal
and $2.6 billion Main Line Third
Track projects.
The backlog of unfunded NYC
Transit, LIRR and Metro North
safety and state of good repair
projects not included under “Fast
Forward” combined far exceed $30
billion.
How will the MTA find $19
billion more on top of $30 billion
toward funding NYC Transit
President Andy Byford’s proposed
10-year, $37 billion subway system
recovery plan?
Will Cuomo and de Blasio come
up with $2 billion each per year
over the next 10 years? The odds
are slim to none.
If NYC Transit President Andy
Byford is so confident in creation
of a “World-Class Transit System”
in five years, let him put up his
generous future severance package
as collateral.
Larry Penner, Great Neck
TAKING
ON TRUMP AND
THE ELECTION
Your editorial “Hey Trump, stop
attacking the press!” (Aug. 16) is
right on target. I agree completely
with you.
Our democracy is in peril. We
have an autocrat who acts like
a spoiled 3-year-old. His recent
LETTERS AND COMMENTS
blunder resulted in stripping
security clearance from a diplomat
who dared to criticize the
emperor.
For those of us who read The
New York Times, our local weeklies
and listen to NPR and watch
PBS, we know that the media that
scrupulously checks for accuracy
and fairness.
I urge all Democrats to vote in
the primary for governor. I favor
Cynthia Nixon for her ideas. Not
only do we need more women
in politics, we need a fresh approach
to the critical dearth of
21st-century training and good
jobs. Money must come from the
wealthiest citizens to boost the
plight of workers who make the
lowest wages, many working two
jobs and double shifts and are
still struggling.
What happened to rebuilding
the infrastructure? Where are
the funds for schools? Why are
our prisons overcrowded with
people who use marijuana for
themselves? Legalize, purify it,
make it safe and cheap. Tax it
as we do cigarettes, alcohol (far
more dangerous in excess) and
even candy.B
arbara K. Brumberg,
Howard Beach
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FAST AND FLEXIBLE ONLINE LENDING
BY SCOTT STEWART
You opened a takeout counter
shop in Bayside three years ago,
and it’s been quietly humming
along. But aft er some local food blogs
mention your signature smoked
Cuban sandwich, people are starting
to line up down the block. You can’t
aff ord to lose this kind of momentum.
You’ll need to fi nd enough capital
to hire two more employees and buy
a bigger oven. Last time you went to
the bank for a loan, it took a week
to fi ll out the application and three
months to get approved. Luckily,
you have alternate funding options
– like an online lender.
We know small businesses – your
grocers, laundromats and landscapers
– are vital to New York’s economy,
but they face a widening credit gap.
Consider the hurdle every small
business faces: access to timely and
aff ordable credit. According to a 2016
Federal Reserve report, 67 percent
of businesses with annual revenues
below $1 million experienced credit
shortfalls. Small-business lending
by traditional banks has declined 20
percent over the last 10 years, costing
New York an estimated $8 billion in
gross domestic product. With 3.9
million New Yorkers employed by
small businesses, this aff ects you or
someone you know.
Online lenders have stepped up.
From 2015 to 2017, fi ve major online
lenders funded $758 million to
11,490 small businesses in New York,
according to a recent study by NDP
Analytics. That capital then created
over 20,000 jobs and almost $800
million in wages. And online lenders
are making a big impact in oft en overlooked
communities: almost a third of
those loans fueled businesses in ZIP
codes with below-median incomes.
A LOOK BACK
This 1970s picture from the Ridgewood Times
archives shows the shops at the corner of Dry
Harbor Road and Penelope Avenue in Middle
Village. The pharmacy in the foreground is now
occupied by an Allstate insurance agency, while
an adjacent storefront is the home of Coldwell
Banker Phillips Realty. Send us your historic
photos of Queens by email to editorial@qns.
com (subject: A Look Back) or mail printed pictures
to A Look Back, ℅ Schneps Publications,
38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361. All mailed
pictures will be carefully returned to you.
Ridgewood Times archives
It’s no surprise why small businesses
are turning to online lenders.
Online lending is fast and fl exible,
off ering an alternative to savvy business
owners seeking smaller, shorter
term loans. Technology enables
online lenders to gather information
about an applicant’s creditworthiness
more effi ciently, meaning they
can approve borrowers and provide
funding when it matters.
But New York’s Department of
Financial Services recently recommended
new regulations that would
drive out online lenders. By imposing
burdensome requirements and
arbitrary rate caps to block online
lenders from bringing aff ordable
credit to the small business market,
these regulations would choke off
capital to businesses and entrepreneurs
across the state. It’s clear
who’s on the losing end of these
recommendations: New York’s
hard-working small-business owners
and their employees.
What New Yorkers need is
thoughtful regulation that promotes
responsible innovation and
recognizes the value of online
lending. Online lenders empower
small businesses and their local
economies to succeed.
Just because your sandwiches are
old school doesn’t mean your lender
should be. Meanwhile, you can turn
your focus back to the eager New
Yorkers waiting around the corner.
Those Cubanos aren’t going to grill
themselves.
Scott Stewart is the CEO of the Innovative
Lending Platform Association,
the nation’s leading trade organization
for online lending companies
serving small businesses, including
OnDeck, Kabbage, Lendio, The Business
Backer, Breakout Capital, PayNet,
6th Avenue Capital and Orion First.