Image Credit: NYC SBS

The campaign aims to support businesses who have continued to serve their communities during the pandemic. On February 18, 2021, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Small Business Services Commissioner Jonnel Doris announced “Shop Your City: BE NYC,” a new targeted campaign aimed to encourage New Yorkers to support local Black-owned businesses. Between February and April 2020, Black businesses as a whole saw a 41 percent decrease in business activity. While the pandemic has hit all businesses hard, Black-owned businesses are twice as likely to shut down during the pandemic. 

Black-owned businesses constitute 3.5 percent of all businesses in New York City. Launching during Black History Month, the Shop Your City: BE NYC campaign will spotlight Black businesses that have continued to serve their communities throughout the pandemic on social media; share online resources to help New Yorkers discover Black-owned businesses; and encourage New Yorkers to share Black-owned businesses they support with a Instagram-story template to use.

On February 25th, Small Business Services will host a Black History Month roundtable discussing examples of resilience and resourcefulness within the Black business community and lessons for the city’s overall economic recovery. 

Mayor de Blasio stated, “The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every small business in our city – but our Black businesses have been hit especially hard. BE NYC is part of our commitment to create a recovery for all New Yorkers and help our small businesses succeed in this pandemic and beyond.”

SBS Commissioner Doris stated, “Black businesses aren’t just places to purchase goods and services. They serve as cornerstone centers for communities across the City and resource hubs to share critical information with neighbors. Now more than ever, shopping locally can make or break a business. Shop Your City: BE NYC, will encourage New Yorkers to shop at local Black-owned businesses during Black History Month and beyond.”

For more information about the campaign, click here.

By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the CityLaw fellow and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)