Bronx Business News You Can Use

This week’s Friday Extra comes from Darry Saldana.

Topics are:

If you received a PPP you are required to apply for forgiveness. There is a 5-minute application that has to be completed in order to have this money completely forgiven, otherwise it becomes a loan in which the SBA and IRS will require to be repaid. We urge everyone who received a PPP loan to apply for forgiveness to avoid having to repay whatever money they received.

Due to the overwhelming response, the application for the NYC Small Business Resilience Grant has been paused. Businesses should check covidresilience.nyc for updates if additional funding becomes available.

Businesses that have already begun applications should complete their application as soon as possible.

If applicants have questions about how to complete their application, they should review the application guide or contact the call center at 888-959-6471.

For assistance with the New York State COVID-19 Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program and other business financing options, visit nyc.gov/financingassistance to request a one-on-one consultation with a representative from one of our NYC Business Solutions Centers.

Earlier this year, we reported that the state legislature had passed a bill that would allow the State Liquor Authority to issue temporary retail permits to applicants for new alcohol licenses in New York City. The bill’s path to becoming law was complicated by several technical negotiations that took place after the bill was passed.

We are now pleased to announce that last night, after months of discussions, Governor Hochul signed a version of the bill into law.  The NYC Hospitality Alliance is proud to have played an integral role in these discussions, led by our expert teams at Yoswein New York and Pesetsky & Bookman. We are working with the SLA on the implementation timeline and the application and notice procedures for these temporary permits. We hope to update you on those details in the coming days.

To read more, click here.

Good news! The FAIRER (Fine and Interest Reduction Enabling Recovery) Program has been extended to March 20, 2022.

FAIRER is a temporary program allowing for the payment of a reduced amount for eligible Environmental Control Board (ECB) judgments. Depending upon whether you had a hearing and whether the judgment was entered during the COVID-19 pandemic, your savings can be up to 75%. This savings includes the abatement of any interest associated with your judgments.

The FAIRER Program will end on March 20, 2022. To participate and save on your unpaid ECB judgments, visit www.nyc.gov/mysummons.

Please note that if you do not have any unpaid ECB judgments, you do not need to take any action.

To learn more about the FAIRER Program, including eligibility criteria and other important information, visit www.nyc.gov/fairer or call 311.

NYC Ferry’s Throgs Neck/Ferry Point Park landing on the Soundview route will officially open on Tuesday, December 28, 2021!

This new stop will make it easier for surrounding communities in Throgs Neck to travel to parts of Manhattan in less than an hour. Riders can access the Soundview route and the entire NYC Ferry system for just $2.75. On this route, commuters from Throgs Neck/Ferry Point Park can get to Lower Manhattan in one hour and to Midtown in just 40 minutes. Click here to preview & download the new Soundview schedule to plan your trip accordingly.

HERO Act Workplace Safety Committees

As you recall, in addition to requiring all employers to develop and adopt a written airborne infectious disease prevention plan, the HERO Act requires all employers of 10 or more to permit the establishment of workplace safety committees. Today’s State Register included proposed regulations on how those committees will be established and structured, and employer’s obligations under the act. A public hearing on the proposed regulations will be held February 9, 2022 at 11:00 am. Highlights include:

Definition of “Worksite” – It appears employers with multiple work locations that are not ‘in reasonable geographical proximity’ may be required to have multiple workplace safety committees.

Establishment of committees – employers must respond with ‘reasonable promptness’ to written requests by two or more non-supervisory employees to establish a committee.

Committee size – committees shall have a maximum of 12 members or one-third of the total number of employees at each worksite – whichever is fewer. Worksites with less than 10 employees shall have 3 committee members.

Meeting frequency – meetings shall be conducted at least one per quarter for not longer than two hours. This is considered work time and should be paid hours. Meetings shall be scheduled at times that do not unreasonably conflict with the employer’s business operations.

The Business Council will continue to work with NYSDOL to make these regulations more functional for employers and will be participating in the Public Hearing. Please send to me your comments/ suggestions in advance of that meeting.

The past 20+ months of the pandemic have been filled with challenges and hardships, especially for our Bronx businesses. To supplement the efforts of our 501c(6) membership organization, we formed the Bronx Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a certified 501c(3) aimed at leveraging the collective financial and human capital of our network to economically strengthen the Bronx business community through the following programmatic initiatives in 2022 & beyond:

Stay tuned to our website and social media for news and updates regarding Foundation programs, fundraising initiatives, and more!