Christine C. Quinn is Speaker of the New York City Council.Since 1999, Speaker Quinn has served as the representative for the 3rd Council District of Manhattan. For additional information on government resources available to small businesses, please visit http://community. business.gov, a new website launched by the SBA that helps small firms access government aid and gives business owners a forum to share their knowledge and insights with others.
You often hear elected officials say that small businesses are the backbone of our economy. But unfortunately, we haven’t always backed up that statement with a real commitment to supporting our small businesses.
New York City’s 220,000 small businesses account for 50 percent of all private sector employment. And in tough financial times, when so many boom industries have gone bust, we’ll need to depend even more on these businesses to fuel growth and employment.
The City Council has spoken to business owners around the city, and asked them: “What can we do to help you?” We’ve taken some of their answers, and folded them into a three-pronged economic development plan we’re calling “Open for Business.”
First, we’ll make it easier for new businesses to start up. Opening a business can require over a dozen permits from a variety of city agencies. To cut down on the paperwork, we’ll create a single, combined application that folks can file on the web. And since all the permitting fees can add up, we’ll waive the costs for the next 12 months to encourage new businesses to open.
Another obstacle for new businesses is the many inspections New York City requires. Since each agency visits separately, a business could remain shuttered for weeks or months, just waiting for that one last inspection. So we’re working with the Bloomberg Administration to coordinate inspections, and have every possible agency come on the same day.
The second part of our plan is to support businesses that already exist, by keeping more local dollars in our local economy. Whenever the City buys a product or procures a service, we’re required by state law to take the lowest bid – even if that means sending taxpayer dollars across the country. We’ll work to change that law, so we can use a qualified local company, particularly one that’s woman or minority owned. We might spend a little more on the front end, but we’ll support local jobs and ultimately create additional revenue.
And finally, we’ll take steps to keep government out of the way of small business growth. For example, we’ll establish a temporary amnesty for businesses with outstanding violations. If a small business comes forward during this time and demonstrates that they’ve corrected the underlying problem, we’ll waive their late fees and develop a payment plan. We’ll make sure fines aren’t dragging these businesses down, and get millions of dollars flowing into city coffers.
With these three, common sense proposals – help businesses open, get them more business, and stay out of the way – we’ll help get New Yorkers working, and keep small businesses the engine of our economic growth.