presented by Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance

January 15th, 2021

Quotes of the Day

	“Let’s be clear: those who run America’s small businesses aren’t just business leaders, they’re civic leaders and community leaders.  They’re the ones who sponsor Little League games, scholarships, and all kinds of local causes and activities.  We must do right by them.” - Vice President Elect Kamala Harris
	“New York State is the state of aspiration and excellence. That is New York's legacy. That's what made us the progressive capital of the nation. We have done this through our history. We did it last year when times were tough and we will do it again this year and New York will lead the way.” - New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo

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Governor Cuomo Delivers 2021 New York State of the State Address

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo delivered his 2021 State of the State address on Monday, January 12th. Speaking from the State Capitol’s War Room, Governor Cuomo immediately characterized COVID-19 as war, “We will win the COVID war and we will learn and grow from the experience,” the Governor asserted.

Governor Cuomo outlined a 7-point plan for New York State: Defeat COVID; Quickly vaccinate 70 to 90 percent of 20 million New Yorkers; Address the short-term economic crisis (a $15 billion state deficit must be addressed in coming weeks); Plan economic resurgence, (“We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open.”); Seize the opportunity to make New York a global leader (shift to green energy); And lastly, address systemic injustice, inequity, racism and social abuse.

The Governor announced the launch of the New York State Public Health Corps., through which 1,000 Health Corps Fellows will be trained to facilitate a statewide coordinated vaccination operation, safely and quickly, in every part of the state. He also warned of the dangers of COVID fatigue.

Discussing the lack of federal funding to aid the cost of fighting COVID, Governor Cuomo stated,” No state in the nation pays more to Washington and receives less in return.” Furthermore, Governor Cuomo stated, “COVID is clearly, legally and ethically Washington's liability… We expect SALT to be removed from our wounds fully and quickly and we expect to be compensated for our economic loss. We expect basic fairness from Washington.” To close a $15 billion budget gap on its own would be very painful to New York residents, the Governor warned.

Governor Cuomo proposed legalizing adult-use recreational cannabis, joining 15 other states who have already done so and he proposed state sponsored mobile sports betting to raise additional funding. To jump-start the economy now, Governor Cuomo stated, “We will commence the most aggressive construction and transportation development program in the United States of America: new air, road and rail systems upstate and downstate; more affordable housing; and more economic development to create jobs, jobs and more jobs.” Moreover, he advised, “We will also expand the infrastructure of tomorrow. The infrastructure of tomorrow is our broadband system… and launch the most aggressive green economy program in the country.”

“We will then set our sights to repair our social infrastructure, and that starts with our fundamental responsibility as a society and as a government to ensure public safety,” the Governor explained. He referenced gun violence, social, economic and racial injustice in New York’s criminal justice system and the need for reform. “The public is tired of unfilled political promises. Results are the solution. Doing justice is the solution. True justice, racial justice, social justice, economic justice, and that must be New York's banner to carry in America's post-COVID reconstruction,” the Governor specified.

Discussing public safety, Governor Cuomo stated, “Allowing police to do their job and do it safely is absolute. But for most issues there is no top-down solution, one-size-fits-all approach. We have 500 communities with police departments in New York, and each one must develop an approach that works for them… Each community must redesign public safety in a collaborative process, include all stakeholders, all opinions, all voices. Have the conversation. And then they must pass a law instituting a new public safety function and they must do it by April in order to receive state funding. This is an imperative for the State, and every community within the State.”

Regarding thousands of tenants and owners who lost their jobs and livelihoods, through no fault of their own, Governor Cuomo explained, they must be provided the resources needed for rent and mortgage relief to keep them in their homes and to protect them by prohibiting penalties and late charges on past rent. Many small businesses have been decimated by COVID, and must be protected from eviction, and also given help to reopen and restart.

Governor Cuomo advised that more details to the above plans are scheduled to be presented in the upcoming weeks. Summing up, he declared, “New York State is the state of aspiration and excellence. That is New York's legacy. That's what made us the progressive capital of the nation. We have done this through our history. We did it last year when times were tough and we will do it again this year and New York will lead the way.”

You can view each day of the State of the State presentation for January 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th at these links.

President-Elect Biden Outlines Economic Stimulus Plan

On Thursday evening, President-elect Joe Biden outlined his $1.9 trillion economic rescue package, titled the American Rescue Plan.

The big takeaways: Larger stimulus checks; Added aid for the unemployed, the hungry and those facing eviction; Additional support for small businesses, states and local governments; And increased funding for vaccinations and testing.

Although the President-elect plans to lay out an economic recovery plan in the coming weeks, with the objective of creating jobs, combating climate change, etc., the American Rescue Plan serves to enhance Congress' $3 trillion coronavirus relief bill from last March and the $900 billion legislation passed this December.

Some highlights:

The plan calls for providing another $1,400 stimulus payment per person to eligible recipients. This augments the $600 payments that were recently approved by Congress, totaling $2,000. Some changes include payments to adult dependents and to households with mixed immigration status.

Enhanced unemployment aid would increase to $400 and it would extend the payments, along with two key pandemic unemployment programs, through September.

In addition to the $25 billion lawmakers provided in December, the American Rescue Plan would provide an additional $25 billion in rental assistance for low- and moderate-income households who have lost jobs during the pandemic. $5 million dollars would be earmarked for burdened renters to assist in paying utility bills, plus an added $5 billion to help states and localities in combating homelessness. Food Stamp benefits would be increased and expanded, food security funds made available, and nutritional assistance provided to US Territories.

The plan provides for a $25 billion emergency fund and an added $15 billion to help child care providers, expansion of the child care tax credit for one year, and an increase to the Child Tax Credit, which would also be made fully refundable

Subsidies for health insurance premiums would be established through September, the Affordable Care Act's premium subsidies would be increased and expanded, an added $4 billion would be distributed for mental health and substance use disorder services, and $20 billion assigned for veterans’ health care.

The paid sick and family leave benefits that expired at the end of December would be restored and extended through the end of September. People who are sick or quarantining, or caring for a child whose school is closed and would receive 14 weeks of paid leave,

The plan calls for a $15 billion dollar grant program to be established for small business owners, separate from the present Paycheck Protection Program.

$350 billion dollars would be afforded to assist state, local and territorial governments to keep frontline workers employed, distribute COVID-19 vaccines, increase testing, reopen schools and maintain vital services.

$20 billion dollars would be allocated for a national vaccination program, which would include the creation of community vaccination centers around the country, as well as mobile units to travel to difficult access areas. Federal support to aid in the vaccination process would be increased and additional money for rapid testing would be allotted. 100,000 public health workers would be hired to assist existing community health workforce.

President-elect Biden is also calling for an increase in the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

The American Rescue Plan builds on the $900 billion relief package passed by Congress in December, and while there is no guarantee these proposals will be approved, President-elect Biden states, "There's no time to waste, we have to act, and we have to act now."

President-elect Joe Biden’s Thursday address to the country laying out his $1.9 trillion relief package can be viewed here.

Long Island Main Street News, Under Production, makes Extended Interviews with Local Leaders Available

Vision Long Island has been in the process of interviewing some of our community partners: local civics, small business/chamber friends, municipal officials and local food pantry and religious leaders. 

As part of these efforts, we have reached over half of the communities we work in and are starting now to connect to some of our friends not rooted in any one community from development, design and infrastructure professionals and environmental leaders as well.   These interviews will be pieced together into a future show titled "Long Island Main Street News," but, in the meantime, you can view an extended version of these interviews here.

Special thanks to our guests for sharing their experiences, to our friends at Pink Tie for providing access to their studio, and to Rob Comforto from Videomasters for the filming and production.

Last week’s edition of LI Main Street News interviews featured Harry Malhotra from the NY South Asian Chamber of Commerce.

Harry gave us an update on the growing South Asian business community, the work he does chairing the Town of Oyster Bay’s South Asian Advisory Board and hosting his show on Radio Zindagi.

Mr. Malhotra has been a hands on connector and advocate for the small business community and it was a pleasure to hear his work on the needed revitalization of Hicksville as well where he also lives. 

Check it out here.

We had the opportunity to connect with NYS Senator Phil Boyle in December as part of our LI Main Street News interviews.

The Senator tackled things he has been hearing in the community on the needs of small businesses, the 2021 legislative session and the importance of community outreach on all forms of policies, proposals and projects.   He also tackled the question of when the NYS Legislature is going to get their power back from the executive branch.

Sen. Boyle is always candid, down to earth and very accessible so we look forward to continuing to work with him this session.

Check it out here.

You can work in your local community on multiple levels.   Food pantries need help, democracy is still in action at local Village and Town boards where decisions are made on issues closest to us, small businesses can use your dollars so you can shop local.  

In addition there are any number of people who have been impacted by this pandemic - seniors, those with depression, abusing alcohol, drugs or with mental health issues -  need a helping hand and support services. 
So yes - keep it local.

So in that spirit we premiered the first community of 30 featuring local business, civic or government leaders for our next round of LI Main Street News interviews.  The first features downtown Farmingdale and Mayor Ralph Ekstrand whom we have worked with for over a dozen years.

Mayor Ralph talks about the hometown feel of his Village and the decade long plus efforts at revitalization that has resulted in new restaurants, housing, parks, events and infrastructure investments.    He also covered how the Village has been handling the Coronavirus promoting local businesses, outdoor dining while everyone looks forward to a regular schedule of events in the future. 

It was an honor to start our interviews with Mayor Ekstrand and a pleasure to work with him in downtown Farmingdale as well.  

Check it out here.

We were back this week with a double edition of the LI Main Street News interviews.   The first one featured the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce President Vita Scaturro.

Vita presented a real strong case for Huntington village as a premier downtown on Long Island as a place where "the city meets the suburbs".   She reviewed the regular activities of the Chamber and also shared their work through the Coronavirus shutdowns.

It was great to have her in as a fantastic voice for downtown Huntington.  

Check it out here.

So for our double edition of LI Main Street News interviews earlier this week we were able to connect with Clariona Griffith the most recent President of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce.

Clariona was able to talk about the Village of Hempstead, the work of the Hempstead Chamber and their robust actions through the Coronavirus shutdowns.   She covered her level of door to door outreach for promotions like the Split the Bill program, PPP loans and a range of other assistance.

Great to see the connection she has to the largest Hub of diverse independent retail on Long Island.   We do look forward to seeing progress on their downtown revitalization projects underway as well. 

Check it out here.

This interview headed over to Kings Park and features two really awesome community leaders Linda Henninger from the Kings Park Civic Association and Tony Tanzi from the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce. 

Tony and Linda share their powerful ability to create a partnership that brought together the community a shared vision for downtown revitalization.   So far that collaboration has brought funding for sewers, a new parking lot, some physical improvements and support for local businesses through the pandemic.  Their work is an example of what local leaders can do together.

Check it out here.

Keep an eye on Vision Long Island's Facebook page here, where we'll be premiering a new Main Street News Interview daily! Simply follow us if you have not already and you should get alerts before a new video debuts.

Here is our upcoming schedule of interviews for later today and next week, so be sure and tune in for any that you are interested in:

January 15
Hon. Peter Cavallaro, Westbury Village Mayor

January 18
James Hodge & Mack Graham, Long Beach MLK Center
Ray Thomas, Black Business Center

January 19
Hon. Dennis Siry, Amityville Village Mayor
Elissa Kyle, Vision Long Island

January 20
David Kennedy, Patchogue Chamber of Commerce

January 21
Holly Byrne, Greater Port Washington BID
Patricia Holman, Glen Cove BID

January 22
Darian Ward & Karen Montalbano, Baldwin Civic Association

Applying for the Second Round of PPP Loans for Small Businesses

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been revived, with $280 billion available for a second round, for small businesses still struggling to make ends meet. Monday, January 11th, was the first day to apply for this new, potentially forgivable, federal loan.

What you need to know about PPP Loans:
PPP loans are forgivable loans, meaning the money doesn’t need to be repaid if it meets the criteria laid out by the Small Business Administration. They have an interest rate of one percent and the current batch will mature in five years. The loans require no collateral and come without fees. Borrowers must spend at least 60% of the loans on payroll, with the other 40% going to other eligible operating expenses. Forgiven PPP loans are not considered income for federal tax purposes.

Differences in Round 2:
Targeted funds are being made available for the most vulnerable businesses; restaurants can get bigger loans; the forgiveness process is simpler; the tax break for PPP loan recipients have gotten bigger; and there is an expanded use of funds.

Eligibility for PPP funding:
For round 2 of the PPP funding, both first-time and second-time qualified borrowers are eligible to apply. First-time borrowers can apply for loans up to $10 million.

PPP applicants who are seeking funding in addition to what they received earlier in the year (also known as Second Draw Loans) are eligible for loans up to $2 million provided they meet the following requirements:
-          Employ fewer than 300 people (down from 500);
-          Have used or will use the full loan amount granted to them in their first round of PPP funding;
-          Can show a 25% gross revenue decline in any 2020 quarter compared with the same quarter in 2019 (if a business was out of operation for a portion of 2019, they can use different quarters to compare gross receipts.)

How and when to apply:
SBA reopened the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) for First Draw PPP Loans the week of January 11, 2021. SBA will begin accepting applications for Second Draw PPP Loans on January 13, 2021.

To promote access for smaller lenders and their customers, SBA will initially only accept Second Draw PPP Loan applications from participating community financial institutions (CFIs), which include Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), and Microloan Intermediaries. Paycheck Protection Program lending will reopen to all participating lenders shortly thereafter. At least $25 billion is being set aside for Second Draw PPP Loans to eligible borrowers with a maximum of 10 employees or for loans of $250,000 or less to eligible borrowers in low- or moderate-income neighborhoods.

Applications close on March 31, 2021.

How much can a business borrow?
Loans are capped at 2.5 times an applicant’s average monthly payroll costs in the one year prior to the loan being issued (3.5 times for restaurants and other eligible hospitality businesses).
Loans are limited to a maximum of $10 million for first time PPP borrowers and $2 million for second time borrowers.

What can the money be used for?
The loan proceeds can be used to cover a business’s payroll and certain other expenses, including operations expenditures, property damage costs, supplier costs, and worker protection expenditures.

What about loan forgiveness?
If a business uses at least 60% of the loan on payroll expenses and maintains its employment levels during the covered period of the loan, it can apply to have the loan forgiven. Otherwise, the loans carry a 1% interest rate and a maturity of five years.

For further information, and to apply, click here.

Raising the NYS Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund

Restaurants in New York State have been among the hardest hit by the ongoing Coronavirus regulations and have been relying on local residents and their loyal customers to rally around these establishments to help them stay open.

In an effort to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Raising the NYS Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund offers ​approximately $3 million in reimbursement grants for up to $5,000 to eligible businesses. The program is intended to support full-service restaurants – the industry hit hardest by the pandemic – during the winter months when outdoor dining is limited and as restaurants adjust to New York State’s COVID-19 safety restrictions and new mandates.

The Raising the NYS Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund is a partnership between New York State, Diageo Wine & Spirits, Southern Glazer Wines & Spirits and The National Development Council (NDC). Grant funding will be managed by The National Development Council (NDC).

Restaurants can apply to the Rising the NYS Bar Restaurant Recovery Fund starting Monday, January 11, 2021.  ​

To qualify for the program, an establishment must:

·         Be full-service restaurants (NAICS code 722511), or establishments engaged in providing food services and meals prepared on-premises to patrons who traditionally order and are served while seated (i.e., waiter/waitress service), including on-premises food and drinking establishments licensed through the State Liquor Authority (SLA).  Establishments providing take out or grab and go food services due to COVID-19 restrictions are also eligible;
·         Franchises are not eligible;
·         Have no more than $3 million in 2019 revenue;
·         Be located in New York State;
·         Have been in operation on or before March 1, 2019;
·         Certify and demonstrate that they have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19
·         Agree to comply with all applicable New York State and local reopening guidance and COVID-19 health and safety policies, including the New York Forward reopening guidance and Cluster Action Initiative guidance, as well as SLA and DOH regulations.

Click here for full details.

New York Reopens Rent Relief Program

New York State Homes and Community Renewal Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas has announced the COVID Rent Relief Program will be reopened for application with expanded eligibility criteria in an effort to serve New Yorkers who may have not had the opportunity to initially apply and those who may have been previously ineligible. HCR will accept applications from households through Monday, February 1, 2021.

The Program’s eligibility has been changed to no longer require households to have been considered “rent burdened” prior to the pandemic in order to qualify. Rent burden is defined as paying more than 30 percent of monthly gross income towards rent.  Residents that previously applied for COVID Rent Relief will not have to reapply to be reconsidered. HCR will re-evaluate all applications that were denied according to the new criteria and issue revised determination letters to applicants.

To qualify for this one-time subsidy, low-income renters impacted by the pandemic must meet all of the following criteria:

•  Must be a renter and have a primary residence in New York State;
•  Applicants must have lost income during the period of April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020;
•  Before March 7, 2020, household income must have been at or below 80 percent of the Area Median Income, adjusted for household size; and
•  Households must be “rent burdened” during the months they are applying for assistance between April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020.

For the purposes of assessing applicant income, cash benefits and unemployment benefits are both included in the calculation.

The subsidy for eligible applicants will be calculated as: the difference between the household’s rent burden on March 1, 2020 and the household’s rent burden during the months of April, May, June and July of 2020. For applicants who were not considered rent burdened on March 1, 2020, the subsidy will be calculated to bring them to the 30 percent rent burden threshold.

The application period will be open until February 1st, 2021.

Applications are available on the COVID Rent Relief Program portal on HCR’s website here.

New York State Accepting Applications for NY Forward Loan Fund

New York State has opened pre-applications for the New York Forward Loan Fund. Loans from this fund are available to small businesses, nonprofits, and small landlords in New York State. New York Forward loans must be fully repaid over a 5-year term with fixed annual interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and landlords.

Small businesses may apply for the lesser of $100,000 or up to 100% of the average monthly revenues in any 3-month period from 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. This loan can be paid back over five years with first year being interest only.  However, if small businesses have received either a PPP loan or an EIDL loan from SBA, they would not be eligible to apply. NYS has set a goal of 18% of total funds under this Program for Long Island

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as industries and regions reopen however, priority for New York Forward Loans will be given to industries and regions that have been reopened. Resources are available to assist in preparing applications for small businesses, landlords and nonprofits in industries and regions that have not yet reopened.

To view more details, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, click here:

If you need technical assistance through this process, please contact an Entrepreneurial Assistance Center near you and inform the counselor that you need help for the NY Forward Loan application.  You can find your closest contact center here.

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Trinity Solar

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