SBC - The Small Business Congress
E-mail savenycjobs@gmail.com Websites: Savenycjobs.org
Media Advisory Contact: Steven Barrison
For Immediate release Barrisons@aol.com savenycjobs@gmail.com
Jan. 07, 2020 212-750-5561
CM Brad Lander Pulls Plug on Mom and Pop on “Life Support.”
Leads Rigging to kill Small Business Jobs Survival Act and Kill Last Hope for Small Business Owners to Survive in NYC!
Dateline, NYC Jan 7, 2020,
Brooklyn Councilman Brad Lander became the first NYC lawmaker in 30 years to issue a petition to Save Small Businesses. CM Lander is championing a new bill, Commercial Rent Stabilization, claiming it will save small businesses by putting a cap on commercial rent increases. Lander’s strong public support for the new bill, written by Councilman Stephen Levin, is important because CM Lander is the Council’s Deputy Leader for Policy. * Sign the petition to build support for this critical legislation.
Some small business advocates are questioning CM Lander’s sincerity in claiming to want to save small businesses. After all, CM Lander, in a position of leadership in the council, has remaining relatively silent for over 9 years on taking any real actions to save small businesses. Silent except when there was a public rally in his district for a specific store that closed. What is really behind CM Lander’s sudden public cry for immediate action to save small businesses?
Leading small business advocates like Sung Soo Kim, “the Godfather of immigrant businesses in NYC”, who has been fighting for over 30 years to pass legislation like the Small Business Jobs Survival Act, (Jobs Act) which he wrote, is skeptical of the motives of CM Lander in creating a policy for the council to save small businesses when for 9 years the council’s leadership “turned a blind eye” and refused to even give a hearing on finding solutions to the small business crisis.
Kim’s response, “ With a growing small business crisis out of control citywide, CM Lander should be ashamed of using his office to create a policy that in reality is the real estate lobby’s policy to stop any law from giving any rights to small business owners when their leases expire. CM Lander’s actions are despicable and do not fool any small business owner with his REBNY created bill that was created with only one goal, to stop a vote on the Jobs Act.
Lander is a disgrace to good government by his colluding behind the scenes at City Hall to create a substitute bill for the Jobs Act, which he knows is the only real solution to save small businesses. Instead of working with the Speaker to change the Jobs Act, as the Speaker pledged at the Oct 22, 2018 hearing and move it on to a vote, CM Lander worked with REBNY to create and fast track a bunch of: worthless bills, fake studies, useless initiatives and now the Levin Bill to maintain the “status quo”. His “political theater” at City Hall only shows clearly that CM Lander has abandoned his progressive values to serve his campaign donors and his political ambitions. In the long 34 year fight for economic justice for small business owners, never once has there been two bills dealing with the commercial lease renewal process been in play at the same time in the City Council. But under CM Lander’s policy, he has allowed this to happen by authorizing REBNY to high-jack the Jobs Act.”
Kim, “How does a new bill appear after 14 months from a hearing on the Jobs Act, without collusion with REBNY? Putting aside the bogus REBNY false talking points such as, arbitration will burden small business owners or landlords will not rent to small businesses, or the bill has legal issues etc., all nonsense distractions, the only real issue was “who” would be covered by the Jobs Act. A simple change in the Jobs Act of the definition of “who” the bill covers would take one day tops to make. Yet 14 months after the hearing, with the Speaker repeatedly claiming to be “tweaking and fine tuning” the Jobs Act, the bill has no changes. Instead, those same proposed changes (eliminate big business coverage) now appear in a new bill, Levin’s bill which gives the tenants no rights! This is called Rigging the system at City Hall. When REBNY president Bill Rudin gave notice he was taking charge to stop the Jobs Act, these despicable acts of stalling a real solution to the small business crisis, while a new bill was being written by lawmakers is what Rudin really meant.
Someone should enlighten Speaker Johnson and CM’s Lander, Levin, and Van Bramer that it’s the city’s small business owners that face a crisis to survive, not their wealthy landlords. CM’s Lander, Johnson, Levin and Van Bramer have turned a Tenants Rights Bill into a Landlords Rights Bill that will REWARD the landlords, “keep the status quo”, and not save a single business or job in NYC.
By CM Lander’s petition and championing CM Levin’s bill, which should be aptly named the Landlords Rights Bill, because that is who has all the rights when a commercial lease expires, is an insult to democracy and to desperate small business owners across the city. CM Lander joins Speaker Johnson, CM Levin, CM Van Bramer, and CM Rivera as anti-small business hypocrites walking the halls of the council with no shame.”
An investigation and careful analysts of CM Landers’ disgraceful record of utter failure to form a fair and effective policy to stop the closing of small businesses and save jobs shows why Mr. Kim and other advocates know CM Lander betrayed the trust of the citizens by joining in the collusion with REBNY and the rigging to deny economic justice to desperate small business owners, and he justly warrants the label hypocrite.
The facts of CM Landers’ real record of betrayal to save small businesses:
On June 29, 2009 a hearing was held by the Small Business Committee on the Jobs Act, Chaired by then CM David Yassky. The hearing was in response to the findings of the largest independent study of the city’s immigrant small business owners*. *https://www.savenycjobs.com/latin-chamber-study
The study showed a crisis existed for immigrant small business owners which the SBS had successfully covered up for years. Chairman Yassky’s opening statement showed his committee’s commitment, unlike today’s REBNY Crony Mark Gjonaj, was to address the crisis with a real solution. Yassky, “I will say simply as an opening statement that I believe that we absolutely have to do something, period, It's not an option to do nothing. The mom and pop stores on the commercial strips in our neighborhoods are the heart of the neighborhood. We cannot allow them to be pushed to the point of disappearance, which is what is happening now If it's not going to be this bill (Jobs Act), then I want to hear what the alternative is for how we're going to help small businesses in this difficult time. The one thing I just want to put right up front with the administration witnesses here is we have to have some solutions to offer.”
Brad Lander testified and was in total agreement with Chairman Yassky and the entire Small Business Committee.
BRAD LANDER: Chairman Yassky,
Council Member Jackson, Council Member Mark-Viverito and other Council Members here, it's
wonderful to have this opportunity to testify. I'm Brad Lander. I'm a Senior Fellow at the Pratt
Center for Community Development. The Pratt Center has done fairly extensive research on the topic of small business preservation… I believe that one (solution)being proposed here today of a fair lease renewal process comes out high up at the top (to preserve small businesses) and I strongly support it. As you know, the challenges facing small business have grown from a problem to a real crisis in the city.
But you're still seeing a stunning number of places where when a lease renewal comes up, what people are being forced to do is absurd. If we don’t do something about it soon we're going to lose them more and more and more. The City's Department of Small Business Services, as we've heard, have many fine programs, but the evidence is before our eyes, they just aren't working to save mom and pop businesses in our neighborhoods. So something new and serious is needed. I just think the evidence is there before us if we let the free market reign, we know without any additional regulation what it's going to continue to give us. In two years, three years, five years, we'll be back here with fewer of the small businesses that make our neighborhood great, with fewer of the jobs that we have here today. So let's put in place this one very reasonable additional regulation.
Brad Lander made another important statement that day which will impact his policy for small businesses later as a leader in the City Council.
At the hearing, former Councilman John Liu was critical of the lack of response from the SBS spokesperson on the findings of the study that showed 31% of Hispanic owners had been extorted for cash to remain in business. Liu called out the SBS for not making the illegal extortion of immigrant owners a priority, and for not even caring. The response from SBS was an insult to every immigrant owner, “ have them call us if extorted.”
Brad Lander made the strongest statement on the illegal extortion of immigrant owners by calling for an investigation of the extortion:
BRAD LANDER: I might just add one thing that was very clear from the testimony and the conversation earlier is the need for some enhanced investigation. When the state attorney general stepped in to look at wage issues in some small businesses, some real changes started to get made. I don’t know who it is here that needs to step in and investigate, whether it's the IRS, whether it's the state attorney general, whether it's a city investigative agency. There are clearly things going on that no one has got information on enough to answer the question. The survey that was done is obviously one great step, but having a government agency in is critical.
After being elected in 2010 to the City Council, Brad Lander became a sponsor of the Jobs Act. But later as he rose into the leadership role as the Council’s policy maker, he strangely withdrew his sponsorship of the Jobs Act.
The hallmark of leadership for lawmakers has always been how quickly, fairly, and successfully a crisis is addressed. CM Lander should be ashamed that his policy of favoring the interests of big real estate has made the small business crisis worse. CM Lander’s testimony at the June 2009 hearing was disingenuous, Lander, “challenges facing small business have grown from a problem to a real crisis in the city. As policy maker in the council, what actions did CM Lander take to address this real crisis? CM Lander did nothing for his entire term to save a single business or offer a real solution to the crisis. In reality, he used the full power of his office to join in the rigging to stop any legislation from giving rights to small business owners when their leases expired. His now championing the Levin Bill today is a continuation of his “do nothing” policy to stop the Jobs Act that he once strongly supported and sponsored.
CM Lander’s prediction given in 2009 came true, “when a lease renewal comes up, what people are being forced to do is absurd. If we don’t do something about it soon we're going to lose them more and more and more.” But what did CM Lander do to stop the loss of more and more small businesses? Absolutely nothing. He continued his entire term to maintain a “do nothing” policy to prevent small businesses from closing. Therefore, the empty storefronts on every block of every main street in NYC are CM Lander’s responsibility for failing to produce a policy to find a real solution to stop the closings of small businesses.
The new Levin Bill, which CM Lander is touting to save small businesses is in reality keeping the landlords in full control of all lease terms when a business’s lease expires. In fact, it ignores 20 years of hyper real estate speculation that created grossly artificial and manipulated rents which resulted in the greatest numbers of long established businesses closing.
CM Lander’s policies created legislation that empowers the landlords’ position by “keeping the free rental market intact” which is destroying our local economy. CM Lander’s policy gives new meaning to the word, “Hypocrite”, when he testified in 2009 of exactly what would happen if the free market was not regulated, Lander,” I just think the evidence is there before us if we let the free market reign, we know without any additional regulation what it's going to continue to give us. In two years, three years, five years, we'll be back here with fewer of the small businesses.”
Brad Lander left the June 2009 hearing knowing from the large immigrant study, as well as the testimony from small business advocates, that unscrupulous landlords were targeting immigrant owners to extort “cash under the table” under threat of being thrown out of business. He called for further investigations of the extortion by government agencies. Yet, once he was in a position to do something to stop this atrocious act, CM Lander “remained silent and did nothing” to stop the illegal extortion of immigrant owners. Not surprising, none of the policies he originated or supported, including the Levin Bill would stop the extortion.
How truly progressive could CM Lander be if it was acceptable to him that hard working immigrant families would lose their life’s saving by being robbed by their landlords?
Sung Soo Kim, “ I testified at the hearing and listened to the testimony of Brad Lander: “I might just add one thing that was very clear from the testimony and the conversation earlier is the need for some enhanced investigation.” I met him after he testified and shook his hand and thanked him for calling for an investigation of the extortion of immigrant owners. I told him Ramon Murphy of the Bodega Association testified that over 80% of Bodegas had been extorted and I told him the Korean owners also extorted were much higher than the 31% Hispanic owners from the study. His response was, “ if the number was only 1% it would be too many and must be stopped.”
Kim, “ A warning to all immigrant families in NYC, do not trust CM Brad Lander. He does not deserve your trust because he betrayed his progressive values and abandoned his ethics and our immigrant families and will never respect or fight for our rights. CM Lander, like Mayor de Blasio and Speaker Johnson treat the immigrant families as second class citizens. His policies in the City Council are all anti immigrant because none gives a single right to our owners when their leases expire. Worse of all CM Lander has willingly and purposely lied to the immigrant community with his claims the Jobs Act has legal problems. This bogus excuse created by REBNY to stop the Jobs Act has been debunked many times, the last by A Legal Review Panel of Bronx President Diaz showing the bogus claims were merit-less and the final report found the Jobs Act was fully constitutional. CM Lander’s policy is to allow a “Lie to Live” at City Hall that would deny economic justice to small business owners. Economic justice that is needed to keep their American Dream alive. He lied when he falsely claimed the many useless bills and worthless programs were created to help small businesses. All of his policy decisions are made to keep big real estate in power and stop any legislation to save small businesses.”
What CM Lander should be the most embarrassed by was his colluding with REBNY to deny a hearing on the Jobs Act. In the long 34 year debate on the Jobs Act only once has a Speaker refused to hold a hearing on the bill. That was under CM Lander’s watch. Even with the small business crisis spreading to every neighborhood in the city, Speaker Mark-Viverito refused to hold any hearings to find a solution to save small businesses. Instead of holding an honest hearing, like CM David Yassky did, CM Lander was busy creating policy to stall any real action to stop the closings. In April 2015 CM Lander sent his REBNY playbook policies to stall any legislation giving rights to business owners to then SBS Commissioner Maria Torres-Springer and Robert Newman, the Speaker’s top gun to stop the Jobs Act. In Speaker Mark-Viverito's 2016 State of City address, she put into play CM Lander’s policy to continue Speaker Quinn’s rigging to stop the Jobs Act, which was grounded in more worthless studies which would be the foundation for future worthless bills and useless initiatives.
CM Lander’s entire policies concerning small businesses are grounded in “willful ignorance”, and “purposeful deceit” controlled by REBNY. CM Lander knew that SBS was covering up the true crisis facing small businesses and would never recommend any real solution to any real problems of small businesses. Brad Lander testified: The City's Department of Small Business Services, as we've heard, have many fine programs, but the evidence is before our eyes, they just aren't working to save mom and pop businesses in our neighborhoods. The anti small business policy of SBS remains today but has not dissuaded CM Lander to entrust SBS with the future of our small businesses. Every bogus bill, fake study, or worthless initiatives created by CM Lander’s policy has some SBS’s oversight responsibility. The same SBS who will never in Lander’s own words, “work to save mom and pop businesses in our neighborhoods.”
CM Lander’s policies sound good but in reality give only false hope that legislation is being written to save them. CM Lander is a major player in the poorly disguised charade of countless bills, initiatives, press conferences, forums and hearing using a “political bait and switch” theme of “we love our small businesses and must save them, then switch to worthless bills that all keep the status quo.
One example of CM Lander’s policy influences in the Council was a sham hearing September 30, 2016 to lay the foundation for more stalling on the Jobs Act.
http://thevillager.com/2016/10/13/hearing-on-s-b-j-s-a-was-a-sham-all-the-way/
Many small business advocates attended a hearing billed as: Oversight - Zoning and incentives for promoting retail diversity and preserving neighborhood character . Believing this was an honest hearing to find real solutions to stop the closings of their favorite mom and pop, they came prepared to speak on behalf of the Jobs Act.
They were not allowed to speak until late in the day and then were given notice that they could not speak on the Jobs Act. This charade hearing was orchestrated by REBNY to carry out CM Lander’s schemed policies of worthless bills. This charade, disguised as “democracy at work” given credibility by city government’s small business agencies, political leaders and business groups, had two goals: Continue to stop honest debate, public hearings, or a vote on the Jobs Act and preserve the status quo, keeping the power and rights of the lease renewal process exclusively in landlords’ hands by passing legislation that insures no regulation of landlords.
This hearing was part of the longest running scheme to use the full power of government to “rig the system” against small business owners in favor of big real estate’s interests.
For those with any doubts that REBNY rules economic policy at City Hall, the October 22, 2018 hearing on the Jobs Act ended any doubt who the boss is at City Hall. After 9 years of being denied an honest hearing in the Council, the Jobs Act was given a hearing on Oct 22, 2018 which turned out to be one of the most disgraceful acts of government. The hearing was a sham hearing orchestrated by REBNY to continue denying small business owners economic justice. A hearing completely opposite from the Jobs Act’s last hearing in 2009.
The Chairman of Small Business Committee is CM Mark Gjonaj, a wealthy real estate owner and council’s most pro landlord member. Gjonaj is on record adamantly opposed to the Jobs Act or any regulation of landlords. The Chairman in 2009 was CM David Yassky, a real progressive committed to finding the best solution to stop the closings of small businesses, Yassky, “ there is no option to do nothing… I want to hear solutions.” Then Gjonaj, “ the Jobs Act is not a silver bullet, there is no one measure, we are looking at many programs and proposals to address the empty stores and find the tools to help small businesses with the many problems they face.” Gjonaj's code for “ I do not want to hear solutions to stop the closings because the only option we are looking at is to continue to do nothing.”
CM Lander testified at both hearings but his testimony in 2018 had changed dramatically from that of 2009. In 2009 Brad Lander came prepared with research and testified the truth: the small businesses faced a crisis, it would get worse if legislation was not passed, worse if the free market was left alone, SBS was not going to take action to save small businesses, the illegal extortion of immigrant owners must be investigated and his choice as the best and most reasonable solution to stop the closings was the Jobs Act.
BUT at the 2018 hearing CM Lander did not support the Jobs Act and instead went along with the sham hearing with the focus upon empty stores, promoting retail diversity and action to “revitalize retail businesses.”
Chairman Gjonaj constantly was promoting REBNY’s same old thirty year false narrative that the major problems facing small businesses were over regulation and to many high fines that his committee needed to address. For CM Lander suddenly now there was no longer a small business crisis to address, now it was a “vacancy crisis.” Also, completely gone for CM Lander was the need to address the extortion of immigrant owners. Also, gone was the fear that more and more stores would close if legislation protecting businesses was not passed. CM Lander’s recent strong support of the Levin Bill, which is grounded in guidelines including the “fair market commercial rents” shows that he no longer predicts that the “fair market rate“ if left unregulated would force businesses to close. If there was no longer a small business crisis or extortion of business owners, what legislation did CM Lander testify was needed ?
CM Lander came to the hearing to give only REBNY’s false narrative and talking points and double talk on the very same rigging he created for REBNY to stop the Jobs Act. First, he blamed the SBS for not following up on doing studies or evaluations on any of the worthless proposals he cooked up under his “diversity” program. Most were created in 1986 by the infamous Limousine Commission set up by Mayor Koch and Speaker Vallone to stall the original version of the Jobs Act.
Lander's testifmony:
CHAIRPERSON GJONAJ: Thank you, Councilman. Thank you, Commissioner. I recognize Council Member Lander.
COUNCIL MEMBER LANDER: Thank you, Mr. Chair and Mr. Speaker and everyone who’s here today. Commissioner, ..we did a hearing right here in these chambers on small business diversity, and we asked about a whole series of policies about formula [sic] retail bans, about small business zoning, about tax incentives, and what we got at that time was the Department of Small Business Services doesn’t have a study, doesn’t have research, doesn’t have information, doesn’t have evaluation of those policies-- Since that hearing two years ago, since our report came out one year ago, is there any more research from the Administration on whether a formula retail ban would work, on whether small business zoning to prevent just banks and drug stores would work, on what the form of a tax incentive program would be, on any of the policies that we laid out not even going back 30 years, just two years and one year, including the idea of a registry or information? Do you have anything more to bring us today than you did a year ago or two years ago?
COMMISSIONER BISHOP: Right. So, it think, you know, we have had conversations about a storefront registry. We continue to--
COUNCIL MEMBER LANDER: [interposing] We’ve had a lot of conversations, but do you have anything more to give us, any more research, any more proposals, any more evaluations of any of these ideas? COMMISSIONER BISHOP: So, we have focused a lot on our regulatory environment to make it easier for businesses to be in compliance with regulations. We’re working with Council right now--
COUNCIL MEMBER LANDER: [interposing] That sounds like—no.. COMMISSIONER BISHOP: Right, and I would say that it is-- it is certainly a complex issue,
Sung Soo Kim, “ In 2009 Brad Lander testified that SBS did not come to the hearing to save a single business, Lander, evidence is before our eyes, they (SBS) just aren't working to save mom and pop businesses in our neighborhoods. Today, he is using SBS’s pro real estate policy of “do nothing to regulate landlords” as an excuse for his own failure to produce a real solution to stop the closings. Again, SBS comes into the hearing with no intention of offering a solution to save the small businesses and CM Landers knows this fact from the first hearing and from SBS’s none actions the past 9 years. In fact, at both hearings SBS opposed giving any rights to small business owners when their leases expire. They came into both hearings purposely not having any legal facts on the Jobs Act other than the insulting statement “ someone in legal told us the bill had problems, and will give us data after the hearing.”
CM Lander next does his political “bait and switch” routine used by all the lawmakers who are either complicit with the rigging or part of the rigging to stop the Jobs Act.
COUNCIL MEMBER LANDER: [interposing] Again, Commissioner, This is a rampant problem in the City, and like it’s a collective failure. None of us have solved it. I’ve been in office nine years. Small businesses have been closing in my district nine years. I go out each time and try to help. I protest and picket with the artists or with the restaurant. We haven’t come up with good new policy. We did try. We’ve had a couple of hearings. We’ve put out a big significant policy report planning for retail diversity. We asked our staff to do an analysis, and I just got to be honest, the fact that the Administration has not done the research, put out a policy analysis, brought us some policy, responded to the policy ideas we proposed puts us in a really difficult spot. I don’t know whether the SBJSA gets at the problems we’re trying to solve, but without any more information or analysis, it’s really frustrating to try to be a partner.
Kim, “ Not true, CM Lander you did not try to come up with a policy in 9 years to stop the closing of small businesses! Desperate small business owners do not want or need a policy on retail diversity they need a policy of stopping the closings and saving their businesses. I want to give CM Lander some advice to gain retail diversity and especially revitalize small businesses. That advice is pass the Jobs Act immediately, disband all BIDS, and fire all SBS and EDC officers and replace them with real business owners who started businesses from scratch and built successful businesses in NYC. Another advice for CM Lander to expand your business awareness, “what good is any program or bill if the business closes?” Stop the closings first, stabilize the small businesses and then maybe your programs may help a few.”
In the 2018 hearing Brad Lander knew from research ( largest study ever done) that the Jobs Act would get at the crisis small business faced and was the best solution to stop the closings. Now he is not sure, maybe if he would have not blocked an honest hearing on the Jobs Act he would know for certain if the Jobs Act was still the best solution to save small businesses. If CM Lander would stop working on REBNY’s bills and start working on Tenant’s bills he would finally come to the same conclusion David Yassky came to in Aug 2009 at a rally at City Hall. David Yassky, “ The cornerstone of saving the small businesses is the Jobs Act.”
It is difficult to determine which acts CM Landers has done since taking a leadership role in making policy for the Council that are the most anti democracy, anti jobs, anti small businesses and anti immigrant, there are so many. But since the Oct 2018 hearing the most unethical and immoral act has to be CM Lander’s promotion of the REBNY created Levin Bill as a substitute for the Jobs Act, a Tenants Right bill. For over 30 years the hotly debated bill has swung back and forth, with REBNY rigging the system to stop the Jobs Act and small business advocates stopping REBNY created bills. But never in 30 years of the collusion at City Hall has lawmakers like CM Lander work to stop the Jobs Act and worked to substitute and pass a REBNY bill. Shameful, pulling the plug on MOM & POP on life support !!
https://council.nyc.gov/land-use/plans/planning-for-retail-diversity/
CM Lander sent a letter a day (Oct 23, 2018) after the hearing which laid the foundation for his future rigging to stall and stop the Jobs Act and give support to pass the Landlords Right Bill and kill the Jobs Act forever. “I’m willing to see strong action here. At the City Council, we’ve explored a wide range of proposals: zoning that would restrict chain stores (aka “formula retail”) in some areas, or limit banks & drug stores. I’ve proposed a meaningful tax exemption for landlords who commit to long-term leases with modest/affordable rent increases & fair renewal clauses for their small business tenants. We’ve been looking at range of options here. I’d even be open to consider some form of commercial rent control,
Code for: REBNY gave orders for no changes and no vote on the Jobs Act. Instead, support REBNY bill being drafted to replace it.
Lander, “So I’m open to the Small Business Jobs Survival Act. But I’m not sure the SBJSA (at least as currently drafted) will achieve our goals, and whether it will withstand likely legal challenge. In its current form, it makes no distinction between a small business and a Fortune 500 company, so it would cover Mom & Pops, but also investment banks and WeWork.
Kim, “ Shame on CM Lander for losing his moral compass and betraying every desperate small business owner. Your rigging and collusion is not new to us. In fact most of your proposals were created 34 years ago and rejected by all of the city’s business community. It may surprise CM Lander that Mayor Koch and Speaker Vallone could not convince a single lawmaker to introduce their weak proposals in the council. Knowing the huge funds REBNY has given many lawmakers today, it is easier to find unethical lawmakers to introduce and vote for the REBNY created bills.
How does Lander explain the concerns he had with the Jobs Act of “no distinction between Mom & Pop and investment banks” and the fact Speaker Johnson agreed with him and pledged to make the changes in the Jobs Act and bring it to a vote. If Lander listened carefully as he said, he would have heard Johnson over a dozen times make this pledge. Yet after 14 months Speaker Johnson does not make the changes and instead its CM Levin that makes the changes and put them in another bill ( Levin Bill)? How does this happen in a transparent and progressive council?
Also explain why for nine years the “invisible legal voice” tells Lander and other lawmakers the Jobs Act likely will face legal challenges and yet not one lawmaker asks “ the invisible legal voice” to see the substantiating evidence of these claims. Not one lawmaker even bothers to request the legal department to recommend amendments to the Jobs Act to correct any legal concerns. This action is a routine part of the legal departments’ job description and done with every piece of legislation. Yet for 9 years it is not done for the Jobs Act. How did the Jobs Act get reintroduced in 2018 word for word when, if the legal department claimed it was unconstitutional for 8 years? CM Lander you do not fool small business advocates who know the actions of Rigging the system to benefit REBNY.”
For the true community activists who want to be successful in stopping a REBNY bill from substituted for a Tenants Rights Bill ( Jobs Act ), you must know which lawmakers respect democracy and the will of their community and which have been bought off and are loyal only to REBNY, CM Lander’s policies show he clearly is on the side of big landlords.
Kim, “ I call upon all good government citizens who want to save our small businesses and are angry and have had enough corruption of our lawmakers. Get involved and support new candidates who can reform the corrupt Democratic party controlled by big real estate.”
* Sung Soo Kim, recognized as the “godfather of immigrant businesses” and major advocate for over 30 years. He is the founder of the oldest small business service center in NYC, the Korean American Small Business Service Center, and was chairman of the Mayor’s First Small Business Advisory Board, appointed by Mayors Dinkins and Giuliani. He is co-founder of Small Business Congress and sole creator of the Small Business Bill of Rights. He has spent every working day for 30 years addressing the problems of immigrant small business owners. He never took a salary from government as Chairman of Small Business Advisory Board nor in consulting on numerous regulations. He turned down offers to run a BID in Queens and turned down government funding for his business service center. In 30 years he has personally negotiated and re-negotiated an estimated 50,000-55,000 commercial leases for his Korean/Chinese members. He has gone to court twice a week for over 30 years to fight for his members in court.