Mayor and SBS Launch “Shop Your City: BE NYC” to Support Local Black-Owned Businesses

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 <Read More>



Mayor Signs Executive Order Supporting Minority and Women Owned Businesses

The City awarded over $3 billion in contracts to minority and women-owned businesses in FY19. The City is On July 28, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed Executive Order 59 to increase the City’s utilization of Minority and Women-Owned Businesses (M/WBEs), and also announced numerous programs with the Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity that will connect Black and Latinx entrepreneurs to business opportunities.


Comptroller’s Report Reveals COVID-19 Impact on Minority- and Women- Owned Businesses

Eighty-five percent of the survey respondents expect to go out of business within six months. On July 10, 2020, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released a comprehensive analysis of the economic hardships minority and women-owned enterprises (M/WBEs) are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the survey findings, Comptroller Stringer announced new accountability measures to ensure the City is meeting its M/WBE goals.


Third Industrial Business Incentive Area Project Approved by City Planning in Williamsburg

City Planning Commissioners voice concern over approving too many IBIAs before knowing the impacts that such projects will have on the area. On February 27, 2019, the City Planning Commission voted to approved another Industrial Business Incentive Area (IBIA) within the Greenpoint/Williamsburg Industrial Business Zone (IBZ) of Brooklyn. This project will be the third of its kind, with 25 Kent Avenue as the first, and 12 Franklin Street as the second.  This application expands the … <Read More>


City Council Passes New Legislation Halting Business Sign Violation Fees

Small business owners faced fines upwards of $15,000. In response to public outcry and community concerns on the hardships imposed on local businesses, on January 9, 2019, the New York City Council passed new legislation that would temporarily stop fines from violations issued to small businesses for failing to conform to their sign permits or those who did not have the proper permits at all. The Department usually gets 900 complaints a year, but that … <Read More>