8 DECEMBER 31, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Queens small businesses to receive $15M grant
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Queens small business owners and
vendors impacted by COVID-19
will receive support from a new
program that is slated to launch in early
January.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards and James Patchett, president
of the New York City Economic Development
Corporation (NYCEDC), are
partnering with several community
organizations for the Queens Small
Business Grant Fund that aims to provide
a lifeline for businesses struggling
through the pandemic.
The participating partners include
Accompany Capital, Ascendus, BOC
Capital, Greater Jamaica Development
Corporation, Pursuit, Renaissance
EDC and the Queens Chamber of
Commerce. The new grant program
is made possible through a generous
$17.5 million donation from the Steven
and Alexandra Cohen Foundation Inc.,
a nonprofi t organization that is committed
to inspiring philanthropy and
community service.
“This is a real shot in the arm for
businesses during a period when
we’re seeing people struggling to pay
their rent, have a meal at home, provide
food for their kids, and people waiting
on pantry lines,” Richards said. “This
is a really good start and I am proud to
partner with NYCEDC on such a great
program.”
The program aims to support businesses
that are minority-owned or those
located in a low- to moderate- income
community, and communities hit hard
by COVID-19. According to NYCEDC, $15
million will be allocated for small businesses,
each of which may receive up
to $20,000 to support operational expenses.
An additional $2.5 million will
be reserved for further small business
support in spring.
Photo via Flickr
Having done a tour in southeast
Queens, East Elmhurst and Astoria,
meeting with dozens of small business
owners, Richards said they’re expecting
to conduct more tours through business
corridors across the borough.
“You hear the same common theme:
we are holding on by the margins, need
rental assistance and there have been
staff layoff s,” Richards said. “There is
no borough hit harder than Queens
during the pandemic, and we’re not
only feeling the impact health-wise but
also in our business community.”
According to Richards, although the
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
provided a loan, people were cautiously
optimistic about the new program and
didn’t know enough about it.
The PPP is a $349 billion federal loan
under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security Act passed in March.
It was designed to provide a direct
incentive for small businesses to keep
their workers on the payroll. However,
during the fi rst rollout in April, many
small businesses were bypassed as
larger corporations received the loan.
The program was closed in August.
After eight months, Congress on
Monday, Dec. 21, voted to approve
a long-sought $900 billion COVID
stimulus package that provides relief
for small businesses. The package
includes more than $284 billion for
fi rst and second forgivable PPP loans,
expanded PPP eligibility for nonprofi t
organizations and news outlets, and
modifi cations to the program to serve
small businesses, nonprofi ts and independent
restaurants.
In the meantime, the Queens Small
Business Grant comes at a time when
businesses are hanging on by a thread,
as indoor dining is banned in New York
City to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The grant is “no-strings attached
dollars” for businesses in low-income
communities who need it the most
to survive during the winter season,
Patchett said.
“We know this winter will be really
hard and this is about making sure we
can save as many businesses as we can,”
Patchett said. “The next few months
have determined whether businesses
will make it or not through January to
March.”
Community organizations based in
diff erent parts of the borough will provide
technical assistance to the grant
applicants to ensure they receive the
funds. According to Patchett, they’re
hopeful that the program will help a
lot of businesses get through a very
diffi cult winter.
“We’re really thrilled that we have the
opportunity to provide this lifeline to
Queens businesses, particularly to those
in the neighborhoods and populations
hardest hit by COVID,” Patchett said.
The program, Richards said, prioritizes
the needs of the communities
oft en left behind during a critical time,
as they work to rebuild the borough’s
economy.
“This ensures that we have an antidote
to make sure we’re never back
here again. We’re rebuilding back
smart and assisting communities that
really would suff er from the most blight
perhaps, who really have much more of
the population of low wage workers and
getting them back on their feet sooner
or later,” Richards said. “This is what
the government should be doing, to
keep our businesses afl oat.”
Meng secures security grant for houses of worship, nonprofi ts
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Congresswoman Grace Meng has
secured a record-breaking $180
million for the Nonprofi t Security
Grant Program, a federal initiative
that provides houses of worship
and nonprofi t entities with funding
to protect their properties against
threats and attacks.
Meng, a member of the House Appropriations
Committee, secured the
funds in the Homeland Security Appropriations
Bill, which is expected
to soon be passed by the House and
Senate as part of the omnibus spending
package.
“This funding is greatly needed to
ensure the security of houses of worship,
schools, nonprofits and other
facilities, and it will go a long way
towards keeping our communities
safe,” Meng said.
The surge in funding would be for
fiscal year 2021. It is a $90 million increase
– doubling the funding from
fiscal year 2020.
Meng is urging houses of worship
and nonprofits in New York and
across the country to apply for the
grants, as she continues to champion
funding for the crucial initiative.
“With government resources tight
this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
I’m pleased to have still been
able to obtain these critical federal
dollars. We can never take a backseat
to safety,” Meng said. “It must
remain our top priority, especially
following recent acts of violence and
hate that have occurred across our
nation.”
The grants, which are administered
by the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA), cover
target-hardening and other physical
security enhancements such as
barriers, gates, safety gear, surveillance
equipment and other safety
measures.
The program consists of two
streams of funds: the Urban Area
Security Initiative (UASI), which
consists of money for urban areas,
and the State Homeland Securities
Program (SHSP), which consists of
funding for non-urban areas. Under
the funding increase, both have
received $90 million each.
The House Appropriations Committee
funds all U.S. government
agencies, programs and projects.
In addition to serving on the full
Appropriations Committee, Meng
sits on the panel’s Subcommittee on
Homeland Security which decides
funding levels for the grants. Facilities
may apply for up to $100,000.
In July, Meng announced that
facilities throughout her congressional
district in Queens received
more than $1.7 million from the program.
The Congresswoman also held
a workshop in Queens last January
to help local houses of worship and
nonprofits learn about the program,
and how they can successfully apply
for funding.
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
