Christ Yoder
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Part of a set of laws that includes more loans and allows for tax deferrals
New York State Senator Pete Harckham and Assembly Member Steven Otis today announced that they are introducing legislation that would affect up to $ 100 million in federal disaster relief funds sent to the State for an emergency small business grant program.
“The financial situation of small businesses across the state is dire right now, and we can’t wait any longer to give them the help they need to survive,” Harckham said. “Giving businesses access to emergency grants so they can pay their bills and stay open is a must. We asked them to “take one for the team”, so to speak, and now we have to return the favor with a level of assistance that ensures their viability and sustainability.
Otis added, “As we decide where to target corporate pandemic relief, we need to prioritize small businesses that can survive but need a boost to keep the doors open until. may our economy recover. What is at stake are the local jobs and small businesses that are vital to every community. “
The new invoice (S.4688) would use a fraction of the upcoming coronavirus pandemic relief funds that Congress and the Biden / Harris administration are expected to provide to states soon; Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has called for New York to receive $ 15 billion.
Once the federal government sends the funding to New York City, the new bill would then allow a state agency to set the parameters for the emergency small business grant program, focusing on the companies to whom the State had asked to remain closed during the pandemic.
The new legislation is part of a package that includes two previously introduced bills that will provide small businesses and nonprofits with additional financial resources to help them stay afloat as they grapple with devastation. financial impact caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The first invoice, S.3406, establish an emergency loan program and also guarantee loan repayment to certain financial institutions that qualifying small businesses across the state have turned to for help. The second bill, S. 2993, will allow small businesses and small homeowners to defer certain taxes during the state of emergency declared by Covid-19 and allow installment payments later.
Harckham and Otis noted that this legislative package will help secure jobs for countless New Yorkers. As the pandemic spread to New York City last spring, residents were made to stay home unless their occupations were deemed essential and state businesses were temporarily closed. This has had a devastating effect on the state’s economy, affecting small business owners and their employees, as well as their suppliers and other associated small businesses.
“I don’t know how long our business will be able to survive without substantial financial support,” said Nick Crecco, co-owner of Villa Barone Hilltop Manor in Mahopac with his brother John Crecco. “The Emergency Small Business Grants program will allow us to continue to hold on, which in the long term will benefit our employees, our guests and our community as a whole. “
John Crecco added, “We have lost over a year of event bookings, and now we need more help to be able to fully reopen in the coming months. It is a business that we have built and I am hopeful that we can rebuild it again. Fortunately, it looks like the help we need is on its way.
[Attached photo: Sen. Pete Harckham with Nick Crecco, co-owner of Villa Barone Hilltop Manor in Mahopac with his brother John Crecco, in the empty ballroom at the villa. Credit: Office of State Sen. Pete Harckham / Tom Staudter]State Senator Pete Harckham represents the 40th District of New York, which includes the towns of Beekman, Pawling and the village of Pawling in Dutchess County; the towns of Carmel, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County; and the Town of Peekskill, the Towns of Cortlandt, Lewisboro, Mount Pleasant, New Castle, North Salem, Pound Ridge, Somers and Yorktown, the Town / Village of Mount Kisco and the Villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson , Pleasantville and Sleepy Hollow in Westchester County.
State Assembly Member Steve Otis represents the 91st Assembly District of New York, which includes Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle, Port Chester, Town of Rye, Town of Rye and Village by Rye Brook.
