On Sept. 13, State Sen. Martin Dilan will face challenger Julia Salazar in the 18th Senate district Democratic Party primary covering the neighborhoods of Bushwick, Williamsburg, Greenpoint, Cypress Hills, City-Line, East New York, Bedford-Stuyvesant and Brownsville.
A problem many small business owners face in North Brooklyn is the shifting away from small businesses in favor of big box stores. In an area that was once rampart with locally owned bodegas and small stores they are increasingly being replaced with name-brand retailers.
So with that in mind, KCP reached out to Dilan and Salazar to answer the following question:
What kind of legislation will you support to aid small businesses in Brooklyn?
Dilan Campaign Spokesperson Graham Parker: “Sen. Dilan has been supportive of business investment programs that provide tax credits for companies located in the district for hiring, equipment purchase, R&D and facilities expansion. He would like to see some reforms however to guarantee greater transparency in the selection and compliance of companies. He’s supported the ReCharge NY program that provides low-cost power to two companies in the district. He’s been working to open new opportunities for marginalized communities, and to expand jobs and economic activity in the technology sphere. He’s done this at the committee level, as well as a member of the senate and state MWBE [Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise] programs. As chair of transportation committee, he will work to ensure assistance to businesses negatively affected by the planned closure of the L train.”
Salazar: “Small businesses are at the heart of Brooklyn’s communities, but gentrification and skyrocketing rents threaten to shutter businesses and drive many local entrepreneurs out of our neighborhoods. We need to protect them. That’s why I support commercial rent control to provide businesses with a right of renewal on their leases, protection from unjust rent increases, and greater access to loans for small businesses and workers’ cooperatives, particularly for minority-owned and women-owned businesses. In our district, many small businesses will be impacted by the L-train shutdown, and we need to take steps to mitigate the impact, as well as providing the funding and oversight needed to rebuild our subway system as a whole.”
