[[link removed]]Dear John,



Commercial rents have been rising across the city for years, straining small businesses and leaving our neighborhoods with vacant storefronts. As with many other challenges facing our city, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing problems into crises.

Now, with restaurants operating at limited capacity with outdoor seating, stores restricted to 50% occupancy, and people staying home more, ordering online, and spending less, many of our beloved small businesses will simply not be able to weather this crisis and recover without addressing the commercial rent crisis. Too many have closed already.

That's why I’m proposing, together with colleagues in the City Council and State Legislature, a new program of “Small Business Recovery Leases” that will secure longer-term rental stability and affordability for small businesses, and tax relief for their property owners.

Read about the program in the Daily News here [[link removed]] .

Surveys from the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the New York Hospitality Alliance show that fewer than 20% [[link removed]] of commercial tenants have been able to negotiate some kind of rent relief with their landlords, and nearly 83% of restaurants [[link removed]] were not able to pay full rent last month.

The goal of this program is to make it easier for landlords to offer rent relief to commercial tenants, and to lock in more affordable rents for the years to come. I’m pleased to say that the idea came from a Zoom a couple months back with a group of 20 women small-business owners, who operate some of the great small businesses around Brooklyn.

Here’s how it would work: The Small Business Recovery Lease program would offer property tax abatements as an incentive to commercial landlords to negotiate with their tenants to settle unpaid back rent through mutual agreement (via some combination of rent forgiveness, a one-time payment or adjusted monthly repayment plan, or payments shifted to the end of the lease) and enter into a new long-term lease with limits on rent increases. It would be a win-win for tenants and landlords, offering immediate resolution of unpaid rent and a stable long term lease at an affordable rate, offset by a long-term property tax benefit to owners.

Help us build support for this program. Share your story of how recovery leases could help your business or the small businesses you love. [[link removed]]

The first step to make this happen is passing “authorizing legislation” in Albany that would allow New York City to set up such a program. On Monday, Senator Brian Kavanagh and Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou introduced state authorizing legislation. Meanwhile, I’m working with my colleague Councilmember Keith Powers, economists, the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and New York Hospitality Alliance, and a bunch of great small business owners in and beyond our district to design city legislation.

This proposal will help address the burdens facing small businesses during this crisis, but more and longer-term help is needed. For very small businesses in our district, interest-free loans are still available through the Hebrew Free Loan Society (details here [[link removed]] ). I still believe we need commercial rent control, a vacancy tax, and other measures to stabilize commercial rents in the long term, far beyond the COVID crisis.

Small businesses bring jobs, vibrancy, and creativity to our neighborhoods. In other parts of the country, most of what they have are chains and strip malls. We are extraordinarily lucky to live in communities where we can walk to shops and restaurants owned by our neighbors. If we want to keep it that way, we have to step up for them now.

Brad

In this email:
Updates and Resources
Upcoming Events

Updates and Resources

*
Latest
Virus
Data:
There
were
235
new
cases
identified
yesterday,
and
6
more
New
Yorkers
died
from
the
virus
over
the
weekend.
We
have
lost
23,634
people
in
NYC
from
the
virus,
and
230,458
total
cases
have
been
identified
in
the
city.
Currently,
the
7-day
rolling
average
percent
of
tests
that
came
back
positive
remains
low,
0.9%
as
of
yesterday.


*
Schools
Update:
Teachers,
principals,
school
aides
and
lunch
workers
have
called
for
[[link removed]]
a
delay
in
sending
children
to
in
person
classes.
Schools
are
supposed
to
start
sharing
information
about
schedules
for
in
person
schooling
this
week,
but
many
details
about
how
in
person
and
remote
learning
will
be
staffed,
among
other
questions
are
still
not
fully
answered.


*
More
Reopenings:
Museums
and
other
art
and
cultural
institutions
will
be
allowed
to
reopen
at
25%
capacity
starting
August
24th.
Gyms
were
just
given
guidance
to
reopen
at
33%
capacity
starting
also
August
24.
Bowling
alleys
are
allowed
to
reopen
today
at
50%
capacity.


*
Evictions
Suspended
til
Oct.
1:
The
courts
have
extended
[[link removed]]
the
full
moratorium
on
evictions
until
October
1,
a
welcome
relief
for
many
tenants.
Housing
court
is
still
slowly
reopening
though,
and
new
cases
can
be
filed.
Here
is
a
helpful
FAQ
[[link removed]]
on
the
current
status
of
evictions
and
housing
court
proceedings.


*
Unemployment
Benefits
Extended:
While
the
federal
addition
of
$600
in
unemployment
benefits
has
expired,
many
New
Yorkers
are
still
eligible
for
extended
unemployment
benefits.
Traditional
Unemployment
Insurance
(UI)
benefits
are
now
extended
for
up
to
59
weeks
and
Pandemic
Unemployment
Assistance
(PUA)
benefits
are
now
extended
for
up
to
46
weeks.
To
continue
receiving
these
benefits,
it
is
important
to
recertify
your
claim
every
week.
Contact
our
office
or
your
state
representative
if
you
have
trouble
claiming
benefits.


*
Zero
interest
loans
still
available:
We
are
still
taking
applications
for
the
zero
interest
loan
for
small
businesses
and
independent
contractors
in
District
39.
Application
information
is
available
here
[[link removed]]
.


*
Repurposing
bags:
We
are
still
collecting
Fresh
Direct
and
other
reusable
bags
for
use
by
emergency
food
providers.
You
can
drop
bags
off
at
the
following
sites
and
times.

*
Park
Slope:
256
13th
St,
M-F,
9
AM
to
6
PM


*
Cobble
Hill:
359
Henry
St,
Mon-Wed,
9
AM
to
6
PM


*
Kensington:
3
Avenue
C,
Saturdays
at
4
PM





Upcoming Events

Thursday, August 20, 5:45 PM to 8:00 PM: Census Phonebank. Sign up here [[link removed]] .

The Trump administration is cutting short the time for canvassing for Census responses, but NYC is still really behind and facing the risk that communities of color will be seriously under counted. Join us to call New Yorkers in neighborhoods with low response rates to make sure everyone is counted.

Lander for NYC
456 Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor, Suite 2
Brooklyn, NY 11215
[email protected]

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