What We’ve Been Up To Lately

What's Happening This Week in

Downtown Jamaica

What We’ve Been Up To Lately

Our BID is now one of NYC’s designated distributors of PPE (masks) for local Southeast Queens businesses. Special thanks to Fred Green, our key point person on the ground who is coordinating delivery to our local business community that needs them, and thanks to our local neighbor The Nourish Spot for their recent note of appreciation . If you are a SE Queens-based business that would like some of these masks (5 masks per employee), please email fgreen@jamaicacenterbid.org to discuss—pick-ups are by appointment only . Our neighboring economic development organizations, Sutphin Blvd. BID , Gateway Jamaica Center BID , and Greater Jamaica Development Corporation are also serving as distribution hubs and can also be directly contacted to coordinate a pick-up. More about this service here .

We’re also nearly done with the redesign of our new website. Our current website, jamaica.nyc has all the necessary info needed to share important information with Jamaica Avenue customers, business owners and property members, but...we admit that as the sands of time have passed, it has become difficult to navigate. Today’s circumstances have shown that its more important than ever to have an effective digital presence to distribute critical information quickly. We look forward to revealing a fresh, new and easy-to-navigate website by early July!

Our Executive Director Jennifer Furioli also recently appeared on Council Member Lancman’s virtual town hall on “Phase 1 Reopening: Everything You Need to Know ” with panelists from the Governor's Office, Queens Chamber of Commerce, Diocese of Brooklyn and Queens, Jamaica Muslim Center (Official), First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, NY and Vaad Harabonim of Queens. We thank the Council Member and the fellow guests for the opportunity to discuss the next steps in safely reopening our community.

Business Resource Section

Reopening News:

By now we hope most of our businesses are aware of Forward.ny.gov , the State’s official page for reopening guidance. Phase I Guidance here & Phase II Guidance here . Remember that every reopening business must create a safety plan . We have an entire "reopening section” on our Covid-19 page , with a full listing of guides and all other information we could find.

NYC’s Department of Small Business Services is also offering additional reopening assistance specifically for NYC-based businesses. New support services include:

Small Business Hotline: Small Business Advocates and Compliance Advisors will monitor the hotline and have been equipped with the latest guidelines and regulations to share with business owners as they prepare to reopen. Dial 888-SBS-4NYC or 888-727-4692.

Plain Language Industry Guides: SBS has published plain language industry guides as a tool for small businesses to adhere to the latest mandatory guidance and to share best practices. For more information on the guides, visit nyc.gov/business.

Digital Resource Fairs: SBS is hosting an inter-agency digital resource fair. Representatives from various City agencies will be on hand to answer any questions. SBS and partners will provide information about requirements and guidelines to re-opening, safety plans, financial assistance, regulatory changes, employee support, licensing, inspections, and more. Please visit nycsmallbizcourses.eventbrite.com to sign up.

Queens Chamber of Commerce has 2 upcoming reopening webinars :

Reopening Your Business: Happening on Wednesday, June 17 is a webinar about reopening in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis will be one of the most important events in the life of your business. Preparing for it proactively and strategically will be critical to your long-term success. This session is ideal for every small business owner. Register here.

Returning To The Workspace: In the very near future thousands of individuals will leave their home offices and return to a physical workspace. This discussion will cover what you should expect as it relates to the new normal. This will be occurring on Friday, June 19. Register here.

Beauty Salons and Barber Shops : We know there are a large number of personal care service businesses on the Avenue. Your business is listed as a Stage III business for reopening purposes. NY State’s Phase III reopening guidelines are here (click on the “Personal Care” section if you would like to start planning.)

Restaurants : Queens Economic Development Corporation and Streetsense have developed a comprehensive 71-page Pandemic reopening toolkit, specifically for restaurants. Download here .

BE NYC

Census data shows that while the black community makes up 20% of New Yorkers, only 2% of businesses are black-owned . Our Jamaica Center BID team wants to ensure that all entrepreneurs are aware of NYC Department of Small Business Services' BE NYC Initiative , designed to address systemic racism in the small business community and to advance black entrepreneurship. If you are a minority or woman business owner, please get M/WBE certified. The NYC Small Business Services team will work with you one-on-one to help with everything from filling out the application to winning your first contract with the City. More contracts won by communities of color means more dollars in the community. You can learn more at nyc.gov/getcertified or emailing mwbe@sbs.nyc.gov.

Reverse Town Hall for Businesses

New York City is hosting a broadcasted interactive public meeting where the public is the focus. “A View From You” is a new ongoing broadcast series that differs from other traditional town-halls, in that the format encourages public officials to ask questions of the audience in order to get insights and opinions to inform policy decisions. On Tuesday, June 16 The City of New York will listen to the Small Business Community (5:30 – 6:30), with the following panelists available to answer questions: Joni Kletter (Commissioner of NYC’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings ); Jonnel Doris (New Commissioner of NYC’s Department of Small Business Services ) and Melba Wilson ( Chef and Owner of Melba’s Restaurant ). More information on the event and how to participate can be found here . We encourage our businesses to join and share their feedback and questions so that the City can best understand how to address your unique needs.

Loan & Grants Update

We continue to keep an updated list of financial support mechanisms on our website’s special COVID-19 page . Here are a few updates:

NY State’s New York Forward Loan Fund (NYFLF), a new economic recovery loan program aimed at supporting New York State small businesses, nonprofits and small landlords as they reopen after the COVID-19 outbreak and NYS on PAUSE. NYFLF targets the state’s small businesses with 20 or fewer full-time equivalent (FTE) employees (90% of all businesses), nonprofits and small landlords that have seen a loss of rental income. The pre-application is here.

NYC’s Restaurant Revitalization Program: Established by the NYC Depts. of HRA, Opportunity, and Mayor’s Fund. Grants up to $30K to cover a minimum of six weeks payroll for five or more employees. Reimbursable grant (with 25% advance). Recipient restaurants must commit to certain wage increases within five years of returning to normal business. Full description here.

LISC Small Business Relief Grants for small businesses facing immediate financial pressure because of COVID-19 have opened their application period for round four. Click here to apply. Your application must be completed by Wednesday, June 17th, 11:59 p.m. ET. Before completing the application, LISC advises potential grantees to review the Grant Information Overview and FAQ, which can be found here.

Helpful Webcasts...What We're Watching:

Center for an Urban Future’s recent webcast on ways to boost minority and immigrant-owned businesses in crisis. Solutions stated by guests included: use of expanded outdoor public space for business operations; financial assistance for rent; partnerships with Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI's) for financing (visit our COVID-19 resource page for more info about CDFI’s); connecting businesses with existing support resources such as those offered by NYC’s Department of Small Business Services , and more. If you’re a minority or immigrant-owned business, please tell us: what else can our BID, City, State do to help? We want to hear from you and elevate your needs to decision makers.

Neighboring nonprofit Queens Economic Development Corporation (QEDC’s) Reboot and Restart webinars are in full swing and they’re delivering a lot of helpful information. We encourage businesses to listen to them—either live ( register here ) or by accessing the archived webinars here . Most recent presentations: How to Re-open a Small Office (had good information for property/facility managers and property owners as well) and How to Re-open a Retail Store. Our staff took notes . Feel free to review them to understand the depth of what’s being discussed, but its best if you watch the archived webinars yourself.

Pursuit Lending’s Breakdown on the New PPP Loan Forgiveness Standards . The June 5 Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act now gives businesses more time and flexibility to obtain loan forgiveness. When the original CARES Act (the underlying legislation for the PPP program) was passed, certain assumptions were made regarding how long the economy would be closed. With greater knowledge of business challenges and needs, the program (thanks to this Flexibility Act) has now been changed to better support businesses: Loan forgiveness has been expanded to 24 weeks from 8; Minimum amount spent on payroll has been reduced to 60% from the original 75% (good for NYC businesses which pay more rent and higher operating non-personnel costs!) and the deadline to bring back employees has been modified from June 30 to December 31. View the full archived webinar here . There is still time to apply for the PPP. Applications must be approved by June 30.

General Community News

The deadline for the special enrollment period for health insurance is today, June 15 . New Yorkers who lost their health insurance this year can apply for a health plan through the NY State of Health Marketplace.

The deadline to submit absentee ballots has been extended to June 23rd . To be counted, primary ballots must be postmarked by June 23rd. A previously issued Executive Order allows all New Yorkers to vote absentee in the June 23rd primary elections and ensures every New Yorker registered to vote receives a postage-paid absentee ballot application in the mail.

Union Construction Information Session

Please join The Port Authority of NY & NJ and the Building & Construction Trades Council of Greater NY June 16 - 18 for a three-part virtual community event to learn about the LGA and JFK Redevelopment Programs, and construction employment opportunities. Information will be made available on how to qualify for and apply to construction industry union apprenticeship and direct entry programs. Each day will feature local affiliates of different trades. Register here .

Testing Services

New York's diagnostic testing sites continue to expand. Find a location here. The state has also partnered with Google Maps to display testing site results. New Yorkers can search "COVID testing near me" on Google Maps to easily find the nearest testing sites. Please remember you must always schedule an appointment to get a COVID-19 diagnostic test by calling 1-888-364-3065 or your healthcare provider.

For More Coronavirus Information from the City of New York

If you would like to receive regular text alerts from City government regarding the novel Coronavirus, you can sign up by texting COVID to 692-692 .

About Business and Event Promotions in this Newsletter : Businesses and organizations located in the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District between Sutphin Blvd and 169th Street are invited to submit promotional information for possible inclusion in our newsletter. Events happening near or immediately adjacent to the Jamaica Avenue Commercial District may also be considered for inclusion on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to reject or edit materials for length, style, timeliness, and appropriateness. This newsletter serves to inform our community about events, opportunities and commercial activity in Downtown Jamaica, within specifically the Jamaica Center BID boundaries.