FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 28, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 17
Despite Dept. of Labor’s progress, backlog of unemployment claims remains
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As Queens residents struggle to fi le
their unemployment claims, state Senator
Joseph Addabbo participated in a Zoom
conference with other state legislators and
NYS Department of Labor Commissioner
Roberta Reardon to discuss how the
department is handling the infl ux of
claims since the start of the coronavirus
pandemic.
According to Reardon, between March
8 and May 9, the NYS Department of
Labor has taken in nearly 2 million unemployment
claims, which is more than 2 ½
years’ worth of claims in just a two-month
period.
In order to help process these
unprecedented numbers of claims, the
Department of Labor has rolled out a new,
secure online system that allows New
Yorkers to easily submit prior weeks’ certifi
cations that they may have missed.
Th ey have also expanded their workforce,
with more than 4,000 staff and
3,000 volunteers working 12-hour shift s,
to make calls to those waiting to hear
about the status of their claims.
“Th e COVID-19 pandemic has put
millions of New Yorkers out of work,
more than during the Great Depression,”
Addabbo said. “As the Department of
Labor continues to receive claim applications,
they are dedicated to prioritizing
those claims that were fi led fi rst.”
Addabbo explained that a number of
factors could delay an individual’s unemployment
claim, such as incorrect information
given to the Department of Labor,
the complexity of an individual’s work
history, or the federal requirements of
properly identifying the individual and
Reuters/Nick Oxford
certifying the benefi ts.
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s offi ce
recently sent out a release stating that the
Department of Labor has paid out more
than $10 billion to over 2 million New
Yorkers.
Th e backlog of pending unemployment
benefi t applications that were fi led before
April 27 has been reduced to 7,580, which
includes applications that are missing critical
information and cannot be processed,
duplicates and abandoned claims.
Th ere are also an additional 20,801
claims fi led before April 22 that have been
processed but cannot be paid until federally
mandated weekly certifi cations are
submitted.
“While great strides have been made
at the Department of Labor to clear
the backlog of claims, more still needs
to be done,” Addabbo said. “I appreciate
the hard work and dedication of the
Department of Labor employees, and I
want to thank Commissioner Reardon for
keeping us legislators updated on this situation,
as many of our constituents are
concerned about their benefi ts. We need
to continue to work together to ensure
that all New Yorkers are able to fi nancially
survive this pandemic. I look forward
to assisting my constituents with their
unemployment claims.”
Addabbo’s Howard Beach and Middle
Village offi ces are open Monday through
Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and a team member
can be reached at 718-738-1111 or
718-497-1630. Aft er 2 p.m., a 24/7 live
operator will be available.
The building where Addabbo’s
Rockaway offi ce is located is currently
undergoing renovations and is therefore
closed, but constituents on the peninsula
can still call 718-318-0702 to reach a
staff member.
New SBS commissioner says equitable distribution of resources is main priority
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Jonnel Doris is starting his tenure as
the new Small Business Commissioner
at a crucial time for small businesses in
Queens and New York City as a whole.
Aft er taking over the role from Gregg
Bishop — who will serve as senior adviser
for small business COVID-19 recovery
— about a week ago, Doris told QNS supporting
small businesses in every community
is at the top of his agenda.
“Th e challenges that small businesses
face every day are the same challenges
that they face now, but these challenges
are so much more acute and so much
more real because of the environment that
we’re in,” Doris said. “And so we are going
to deepen our reach, particularly in communities
that are underserved, and ensure
that we are making sure our resources are
being distributed out to them in an equitable
way.”
Prior to his role as SBS commissioner,
Doris led the Offi ce of Minority and
Women Owned Enterprises, the fi rst of its
kind in NYC’s history.
Th ere, he helped Minority Woman-
Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) get
certifi ed and navigate the city’s processes,
which totaled 9,800 fi rms and $14.6 billion
investment within four years.
And before that, he was the chief diversity
offi cer for the Governor’s Offi ce of
Storm Recovery (GOSR), a $4.4 billion
program that reached 36 counties.
He managed seven programs, including
the Minority and Women Owned
Business Enterprise, Fair Housing, Equal
Opportunity, American Disabilities Act
and Limited English Profi ciency programs.
When de Blasio announced Doris’
new role on May 11, he asked him to start
from scratch.
When asked what that means for SBS,
Doris noted that COVID-19 has completely
upended the way they do business
and conduct their outreach.
“We normally did most of our work in
person, and when you do business and
training, they were generally in person
— but we’re in a new era,” Doris said. “So
most of what we’re doing is being done
remotely.”
SBS has a number of services for small
businesses and job seekers. Most of their
work consists of helping small businesses
understand paperwork and apply for
funds and loans to continue operating or
start an enterprise.
According to Doris, they have about
40 lenders they work with throughout
the year, and last year they connected
businesses to $70 million worth
of funds. In an eff ort to help small
businesses during the COVID-19
pandemic, SBS is managing two
relief programs: NYC Business
Continuity Loan Fund and NYC
Employee Retention Grant. But
SBS recently came under fi re
when state Senator
Jessica Ramos and
Councilman Costa
Cons t ant i n i d e s
sent a letter to the
mayor and SBS
aft er they learned
most of their
COVID-19 assistance
has gone to businesses based in
Manhattan.
Th e lawmakers called on the city to
refocus their eff orts to help shops outside
of Manhattan, as businesses in Queens
and other boroughs are suff ering just as
much from the economic crisis. SBS has
given 293 businesses the NYC Business
Continuity Loan Fund, which makes up
$16.7 million of the $20 million program.
For the NYC Employee Retention Grant,
they’ve approved 3,200 businesses, or
$23.4 million of the $40 million program.
As of May 13, Manhattan-based shops
have received approximately 54 percent
of the grants, followed by Brooklyn with
24 percent, Queens with 17 percent, and
Staten Island and the Bronx with 3 percent
each, according to SBS. For the loans,
Manhattan again leads with approximately
60 percent of loans going to their small
businesses, followed by Brooklyn with 21
percent, Queens with 12 percent, Staten
Island with 4 percent and the Bronx
with 2 percent, according to SBS.
Doris noted that more than 50
percent of the loans went to minority
or women-owned businesses.
But the lawmakers wrote in their
letter that a lack of “data-driven
approach to identifying small
businesses and a system to
establish communicative
relationships
with them,” is part
of the reason why
foreign-born folks
have a tougher
time accessing that
help. While Doris
mentioned the services and ways SBS
tries to reach out to small business owners
— whether it be through their technical
support, their active social media presence
or the information on their website
that’s translated to 16 diff erent languages
— he added that SBS is “doubling down”
on their outreach.
“We have about seven social media sites
where we’ve pushed out 150 messages
across those platforms since the crisis
started every week. We have 180,000
individuals receiving our updates through
emails for business owners and job seekers.
Our website alone reached over
700,000 businesses since March,” Doris
said. “We’re deepening our outreach to
the outer boroughs, we are speaking
directly to our community partners in
the outer boroughs, and we are here to
make sure that the businesses that need
assistance will get it from us.”
As they navigate what small businesses
will look like post-COVID-19, Doris said
SBS is mainly concerned about fi guring
out ways to prop up mom-and-pops, businesses
that don’t classify as essential but
are still impactful, as well as restaurants.
Doris — who emigrated from Guyana,
grew up in Brooklyn, and was a small
business owner himself — plans to prioritize
assistance for small businesses in all
fi ve boroughs, with an emphasis on immigrant
owned shops, which make up more
than 50 percent of the city’s small businesses.
“I understand the challenges that these
businesses face fi rsthand,” Doris said.
“And I think part of that knowledge and
experience and understanding helps us to
Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce serve and zero in on those communities.”
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