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>


Enforcement of sex shop rules halted

Adult entertainment businesses continue their decades-long fight against zoning rules that restrict business locations. In the latest installment in the City’s efforts to restrict adult entertainment establishments, a federal court enjoined enforcement of the City’s zoning resolution. This is the latest court action in a series of actions that began in 1994.



Mayor Announces Creation of COVID Vaccine Command Center, Vaccine Equity Plan

The Vaccine Equity Plan focuses on 27 of the neighborhoods hit hardest by COVID-19. On December 11, 2020, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of the COVID-19 vaccine command center and outlined the City’s Vaccine Equity Plan. The City expects to receive 465,000 doses of the vaccine by the start of January, and has currently delivered 42,900 doses. Initial vaccine doses are first being distributed to health care professionals and nursing homes, and then <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.