Small businesses in NYC are clinging to life and hanging on by a thread. Yet even during the pandemic, they have been fined by city agencies.
One elected official realizes that putting more of a financial burden on these proprietors when they are barely surviving is simply not right.
Councilman Fernando Cabrera recently announced that he is in the process of drafting a bill that will create an amnesty program for small businesses that have received summonses during COVID-19. If approved, it will eliminate interest; reduce the fine by 25 % and issue refunds for fines already paid.
“Small businesses deemed ‘non-essential’ were forced to close for an indefinite period of time, forfeiting income, destroying local businesses and neighborhood jobs,” the councilman said. “This didn’t stop the city from issuing summonses for various violations that might not have been the fault of the business owner. We need to save these small businesses, which are mainstays of our communities.”
