Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday announced that, at his request, low-interest federal loans are available to dozens of residents and businesses affected by the March 29 fire on DeKalb Avenue between Knickerbocker and Wilson avenues in Bushwick.
The six-alarm blaze took 200 firefighters to extinguish and leveled or caused serious damage to five row houses, leaving 12 hospitalized and more than 90 residents homeless and several businesses shuttered.
“This fire dealt a devastating hand to many residents and businesses in this Brooklyn neighborhood – but today the recovery process is moving forward,” Cuomo said. “I thank our federal partners for working quickly to provide support and urge those affected by this fire to take advantage of this assistance to help rebuild.”
Following the fire, U.S. Small Business Administration, local and state emergency management teams performed a damage assessment of the site. Sufficient damage was determined to be present to warrant a Physical Disaster Declaration that Cuomo requested on April 29, thus activating eligibility for low-interest loans.
Under the Declaration, the following groups may be eligible for loans:
· Homeowners: up to $200,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate
· Homeowners and renters: up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property
· Business owners: up to $2 million for the replacement of real estate, inventories, machinery, equipment, and other physical losses
· Businesses and non-profits: Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to provide necessary working capital until normal operations resume after a disaster
Interest rates on the loans can be as low as 1.813 percent for homeowners and renters, 2.625 percent for non-profit organizations, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.
The application can be completed online here, or downloaded here and mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Brooklyn Congresswomen Nydia M. Velázquez and Yvette D. Clarke lauded the SBA assistance.
“After disasters like this, a low-interest SBA loan can help renters, homeowners and businesses get back on their feet and recover. I encourage those affected by this horrific fire to look into this initiative and not hesitate to contact my office if they need help navigating the program and securing assistance,” said Velazquez.
Clarke said access to capital is vitally important now as families, small business and other community members affected by the blaze work to rebuild their lives.
“By offering low interests rates, opening a loan application center, and providing available onsite assistance, help will be available to the victims of the DeKalb Avenue apartment building fire. The decision by the Small Business Administration to grant disaster loans to those impacted is a critical part of the recovery and I applaud the efforts of Governor Cuomo’s administration to help to rebuild this community,” said Clarke.
To provide assistance to residents and business owners wishing to file an application, the SBA will open a Disaster Loan Outreach Center at the New York Police Department Patrol Borough North located at 179 Wilson Avenue in Brooklyn.
The Outreach Center will be open: Tuesday, May 17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; May 18 – 20 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and May 21 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Outreach Center will be closed on Sunday, and reopen May 23 – 25 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Outreach Center’s final day will be Thursday, May 26 and will operate from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Applicants will be assisted on a first-come, first served basis.
Assistance is also available by calling the Small Business Administration’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailingdisastercustomerservice@sba.gov.
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is July 11, 2016. The deadline to return economic injury applications is February 10, 2017.
