By Josh Williams
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — The majority of small businesses in lower Manhattan have never even heard of grant money that could compensate them for loss of business due to the ongoing World Trade Center construction, a new survey has found.
The “Small Firm Assistance Program” compensates small firms for revenues lost during street closures related to publicly-funded construction projects. Eligible businesses receive grants of up to $25,000 in total compensation based on square footage of retail space affected.
But just a third of the downtown merchants surveyed by Pace University urban planning students were aware of the program. Only 11 of the 76 businesses survedy had actually received funding.
In order to qualify, a small business must apply before Dec. 31 each year, must be a for-profit retail business with 50 or fewer employees, must be located on the ground floor of a street fully or partially closed bypublicly financed construction (or within one block of an affected street), and must not have any outstanding taxes due.
“It is our findings that based on these results [the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation] needs to provide more outreach to merchants so that they are aware of the programs that are available,” Fred Wolf, a senior majoring in environmental studies, said during the students' presentation of their findings to Community Board 1's World Trade Center Development Committee.
“LMDC should create a more personable relationship with small business and small business’s should create an alliance that would strengthen their voice,” Wolf said.
The students told the committee that over the past two years more than 320 small businesses have failed or been forced to leave downtown.
The students involved in the study are part of a Pace University class taught CB1 staffer Michael Levine.
“Pace students continue to be a valuable resource for our community and we greatly appreciate their findings,” said CB1 Committee Chair Catherine McVay Hughes.
