( ENSPIRE Community Spotlight ) LISC NYC and Advocates Call on Lawmakers to Push Immediate Funding for Small Minority-Owned Businesses
ENSPIRE Contributor: Rawlonda Arthur
Three-quarters of New York City’s minority-owned small businesses fear closure without relief, advocates say. Despite the promise that re-opening brings for New York City’s recovery, minority-owned small businesses in the five boroughs are worried that they did not receive efficient funds to properly maintain and run their businesses because of the shutdown. After a survey by the LISC NYC found that nearly three-quarters of New York City’s minority-owned small businesses fear it will force them to close their businesses permanently if they do not receive immediate financial help from the government. LISC NYC is the flagship New York City office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. It supports local partners whose services and programs aim to create a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable New York City.
Gathered in the Brooklyn’s Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood, a non-profit organization LISC NYC was joined by business owners, civic leaders, advocates, and elected officials focused on ensuring immediate financial relief to be provided to the city’s minority-owned small business community. LISC NYC and advocates called on lawmakers to push for immediate financial funding for minority-owned small businesses across the city through direct outreach efforts. By advocating for a comprehensive program that takes accepted financial assistance and directly gives the funds to neighborhoods where most minority-owned small businesses call home.
Minority-owned small businesses are essential workers in neighborhoods across the five boroughs, and it’s urgent that they receive the monetary support they need to get back on their feet after this rough patch for everyone. “This year, we invested $800 million in the Small business recovery program to ensure that small and micro-businesses from Brooklyn to Buffalo could reopen and jumpstart our economy,” stated assembly member Stefani Zinerman. So progress has been made, and effort has been put forth now; all that is needed is more support for programs that offer capital and long-term technical assistance strategically designed to promote sustainability and viability for minority-owned businesses.
Visit the LISC NYC website for more information: New York | LISC New York
Related Article: LISC Small Business Recovery Fund For Minorities In New York – ENSPIRE Magazine
