Small Businesses issue A Report Card on The Mayoral Candidates
Who will save Mom & Pop Stores and NYers’ Jobs?
Who will restore the American Dream to 200,000 Small Businesses?
Which candidate has the best economic policy
on creating a healthy, stable, and profitable environment for
New York City’s Small Businesses to grow and create Jobs?
SAL ALBANESE ONLY HOPE TO SAVE SMALL BUSINESSES
A
“ The first priority must be to stop the closing of our long established businesses. Once elected, I will take the same course as former Mayor LaGuardia did in stopping the closings of businesses caused by sky-high rents. I will stand with the small business owner and their workers. I will call for a FREEZE ON COMMERCIAL EVICTIONS of all businesses in good
standing until legislation is passed giving tenants the right to renew commercial leases and equal rights to negotiate fair lease terms. I will replace the failed Goldman Sachs Trickle Down economics with Entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurship spirit will be represented in every economic policy decision and my administration’s goal will be to listen to what our job creators need to make a reasonable profit, which will allow for higher wages and growth again on Main Street.”
MAYOR DE BLASIO NO HOPE TO SAVE SMALL BUSINESSES
F
Mayor de Blasio has not been honest with NYers on the true state of health of the backbone of our economy, our small businesses. He knows the out-of -control rent increases have created a Crisis of survival for every small business owner when their leases expire. Even though he pledged to take the city in another direction from the anti- small business policies of Mayor Bloomberg, he abandoned his progressive values and kept the pro real estate policies which have resulted in making the Crisis worse. He has remained silent and done nothing as the real estate lobby has rigged the system to stop any legislation from passing which gives rights to renewal leases and rights to negotiate fair lease terms to commercial tenants.
The result of carrying on this policy is destroying the backbone of our economy and there is no future for small business owners in NYC.
In the last two years of Mayor Bloomberg’s Administration and last two years of Mayor de Blasio, there have been the same number of evictions 492 average per month * NYC LANDLORD AND COMMERCIAL TENANT COURTS
Bloomberg 2012 and 2013 court evictions = 11,822 = 492 per month
De Blasio 2015 and 2016 court evictions = 11,829 =492 per month
* the Small Business Congress endorsed Sal Albanese for Mayor in Aug based upon primarily upon this research
Dateline NYC, September 7, 2017
The future of our city’s 200,000 hard working families who own small businesses, as well as the jobs of the majority of New Yorkers who work for these small businesses, will depend upon the success of our next Mayor’s small business economic policy. During this election year, a lot of attention has been given to each candidates’ pledges made to expand or improve social programs and services. However, little attention has been given to their economic and jobs policy. With the crisis getting worse, and with the city losing 1,000 small businesses per month and empty storefronts replacing once thriving businesses on every Main Stree,t the voters have the right to know which candidate has the best economic policy to save the backbone of our economy.
A special committee of small business advocates with a minimum of 25 years experience did a comprehensive and impartial analysis of the records and policy statements of the candidates.
( savenycjobs.org for details)The committee used four criteria to determine the grade of each candidate:
< >First: Is the assessment of the solution formulated to stop the closing of our long- established small businesses. Second: Are the candidates’ economic programs, policy, or initiatives promote and contribute to stability and vitality resulting in a return to a “reasonable profit ” for the owners. Third: Do the candidates plan to continue the anti- small business economic policies established by former Mayor Giuliani and continued by Mayor Bloomberg?Fourth: Is the assessment of the solution formulated to stop the illegal extortion of “cash under the table” demanded by unscrupulous landlords from mostly immigrant owners?
Mayor de Blasio covers-up his past record of strong support for a bill (Small Business Jobs Survival Act) to give rights to renewal leases to commercial tenants and rights to negotiate fair lease terms. As Public Advocate candidate he championed the bill and called for an emergency vote to “stop the closings and save small businesses as quickly as possible”. After he was elected he created a policy based on “willful ignorance” and created new talking points to justify his change in policy based upon fake studies and phony worthless programs.
Sun Soo Kim *, considered the Godfather of Small Business, has stated: “Like many politicians, candidate de Blasio promised change, ‘a dramatic change of direction from the Bloomberg administration. In my 30 years advocating for small business, no elected official has exhibited as dramatic a change in small business policy as our Mayor Bill de Blasio. He has run the gamut, changing his assessment of the crisis from ‘rent gouging and extortion’ to ‘fines and lack of access to loans,’ a complete flip-flop from the last election.”
“Small business owners know they are in a crisis and it’s getting worse,” Kim stated. “They fear the virtual end of the American Dream unless government intervenes on their behalf,” Kim stressed. “I don’t know what changed in de Blasio’s ‘Tale of Two Cities’ small business environment to motivate the change in assessment of needs. I do know, when it comes to economic policy, Mayor de Blasio has failed to keep any of his pledges.”
Mayor de Blasio has touted the many economic programs he has initiated to help businesses start, operate and grow. He has proudly claimed that his initiatives, along with more new BIDS and community funding have resulted in a “thriving main street”. Nothing could be further from the truth when Mayor de Blasio has broken his campaign promises to promote progressive legislation to end this crisis. Instead, he has remained silent and done nothing in the face of the increased business closings, as the court evictions testify to and the crisis spreads to all boroughs. Last year Queens led the city in increased court evictions of commercial businesses up to a record 90%.
Sal Albanese pledges as new Mayor to make the first law he signs a bill which will stop all small business closings. “This law must stop all rent gouging, illegal extortion of cash under the table demanded by unscrupulous landlords , oppressive short-term leases, protect tenants from paying the landlords’ financial obligations, and protect all commercial tenants: arts, NFP, and professional small businesses.”
Sal Albanese stated that , “once our small businesses are stabilized, I will overhaul of the entire city’s economic policy and agencies responsible for small business. The centerpiece of my new economic plan is the demolition of the Republican Trickle Down economics supervised by Goldman Sachs. An economic plan which produced the worlds’ largest Commercial Real Estate Bubble. It has been allowed to expand out of control making a handful wealthy while destroying our diverse economy, and the American Dream on Main Street.”
Sal Albanese has affirmed that, “I will replace the failed Goldman Sachs Trickle Down economics with Entrepreneurship. I will create a small business advisory board comprised of only small business owners who have started and successfully operated small businesses in NYC for at least 15 years.
This board will not have representatives of Banks, real estate, Wall Street, government funded organizations, politicians or big business as members Their goal will be to identify the real problems facing our small businesses and formulate real solutions to address them and bring them to me for real action.”
* The Small Business Committee is comprised of representatives from each borough, most of the city’s ethnic minorities, women business owners, professional businesses, and every type of business in NYC including arts and Not for Profits.
The Chairman of the SBC committee was Mr. Sung Soo Kim. He is widely regarded as the city’s leading authority on small business issues, and is often referred to as “The Godfather of Small Business”. He was Chairman of the first Mayor’s Small Business Advisory Board for Mayors Dinkins and Giuliani (with no salary) , he founded the Korean American Small Business Service Center (umbrella organization representing 15 Korean business associations) and the city’s oldest small business service center, Co-founder of The New York City Small Business Congress, Co-founded of the Coalition to Save NYC Small Businesses, and he created The Small Business Bill of Rights, highlighting the top needs of small businesses, given to elected officials each year since 1991. For over 32 years, Mr. Kim has given more testimony at public hearing before the city council and special forums and advised government agencies concerning regulations than all the other business lobbyist combined. More importantly, Mr. Kim has worked directly every day for over 30 years providing direct service to the small business owners in need of help, he knows their problems first hand better than anyone.
Co Chair, Steve Barrison, Esq. – Co Chair, SBC --President and founder of Bay Improvement Group, a community coalition dedicated to our main streets, since 1992
Member of the Board of Directors of the New York Main Street Alliance since 1992--NYMSA, a statewide main street revitalization org. in all 62 NYS counties
Executive Vice President & Spokesperson, Small Business Congress NYC, Representing the voices of many of the over 180,000 Mom & Pop businesses employing
Co Chair , Sherri Donovan, Esq. – Legal counsel to SBC, A New York City Attorney who founded her own law firm in 1988, Sherri Donovan & Associates, P.C.. Ms. Donovan graduated in 1985, a cum laude of New York Law School. Ms. Donovan was a Co-founder of Power Girls organization ( NYC professionals and business owners that provide services to each other and the community) , Former District Leader, 61st A.D., Part A (Greenwich Village Area), Former Community Board Two Member, New York County Cofounder and Board member of Art Helping Life, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting cultural arts; Co-founder and Board Member of Butterflies USA, an organization that helps street children in India, Former Board Member of the National Organization for Women Service Fund; and the National Organization of Single Mothers, Inc., and Co-founder of the Village Temple's Soup Kitchen.
Between 1986 and 1995. She has been primary legal advisor to our city’s small businesses for over 30 years and has worked with several administrations’ counsel in developing small business legislation which is legally sound.
Luis A. Facundo , citywide, Hispanic small businesses
Vice President of Manhattan Latin Chamber of Commerce
Chief Executive Officer, CEO, CYCOM INC. / CYCOM Investment Group, An Architect and Urban Planner
Member of USA Latin Chamber of Commerce
Since 1994, he represented Dominican businesses, by helping establish Dominican business organizations like Dominican American Chamber of Commerce and others to advocate for small business rights. In 2003, he was appointed board member to The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone where he formulated several project models which merged the urban neighborhoods with their small businesses into prosperous and progressive shopping center strips. He testified at several hearings citywide on small businesses needs and chaired the committee that organized the seminar in 2009 on Saving Hispanic Small Businesses. He authored the report on Saving Hispanic Small Business released in 2009. He is the founder of Green Bodega Project, which creates an energy system within each store to reduce energy costs. For several years as board member of The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone. He is an Advisor to USA Bodegas Assoc.
Silvia Smith- Started successful small businesses 31 years ago in Washington
Heights . Primary voice for local businesses seeking help for two decades. Founded Manhattan Latin Chamber of Commerce to fight high rents and extortion of Hispanic businesses. Testified at many public hearings and forums on the crisis faced by Hispanic and women owned small business. Founded the Washington Heights Multi Cultural Center, to promote importance of Hispanic culture in NYC.