A report by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce shows that The Bronx received just 7 percent of all federal Payment Protection Program (PPP) loans allocated to New York City. This was the second lowest percent of all five boroughs, after Staten Island. Meanwhile, the report shows that federal PPP loans injected $25 billion, approximately, into the city’s economy, and saved nearly 2.7 million jobs, amid the COVID-19 crisis.

Jessica Walker is president and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce and said the PPP has been the single-biggest stabilizer for the city’s small businesses during the COVID crisis. “It has not been perfect, insofar as the application process is confusing, communities of color have been disadvantaged, and some businesses are not eligible, but without it, we would have seen far more layoffs and business closures,” she said.

Indeed, the complexity of the loan application process, combined with language barriers and the ineligibility of some small businesses were points echoed by some of the Bronx small business owners we spoke to last year.

According to the report by the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, New York City lost 635,000 jobs between February 2020 and February 2021, while 42 percent of the city’s small businesses have closed since the pandemic began. Other major findings of the impact of the loans to New York City’s economy were that nearly 81 percent of all loans went to businesses with ten or fewer employees, while 69 percent of loans were in the amount of $50,000 or less.

For example, it found that eight percent of New York City’s businesses are located in The Bronx, and the borough received seven percent of the city’s total PPP loans. Meanwhile, 25 percent of the city’s businesses are located in Brooklyn, and the borough received 27 percent of the city’s total PPP loans.

Similarly, 21 percent of the city’s businesses are located in Queens, and the borough received 22 percent of the city’s PPP loans, while 4 percent of the city’s businesses are located on Staten Island, and that borough received 4 percent of the city’s PPP loans.

Meanwhile Manhattan is home to 42 percent of the city’s businesses, and the borough received 40 percent of the city’s PPP loans. However, in terms of total dollars disbursed, Manhattan received the highest dollar amount of all the boroughs, at more than $14 billion. This accounted for 57 percent of the total dollar amount received by the city from the federal government in the form of PPP loans.

Norwood News reached out to the chamber to ask for clarification on the how it calculated the number of businesses in each borough. We were informed that this was based on [estimate] 2018 census data, which took into account “firms of all sizes.”

Reacting to the report, Jennifer Tausig, executive director of the Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID), which is based in the Norwood section of The Bronx, said, “We are glad to see The Bronx finally get [its] relative fair share of loans, based on the number of businesses that are in the borough.”

Tausig added, “We will continue to work closely with our local, small businesses to ensure they are accessing all available resources, and ensure our immigrant owned micro-businesses and sole proprietors are well prepared for these opportunities.”

PPP is a loan program that originated from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. This was originally a $350-billion program intended to provide American small businesses with eight weeks of cash-flow assistance through 100 percent, federally guaranteed loans. The loans are backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The program was later expanded by the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act in late April 2020, adding an additional $310 billion in funding. The Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act made important changes to the program, as reported by Norwood News, last November. It allowed businesses more time to spend the funds, and in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, released a simpler loan forgiveness application process for PPP loans of $50,000 or less.

On December 27, 2020 a second federal stimulus package was signed into law, topping up the PPP program with an additional $285 billion in funding, and updating the categories of eligible expenses. This also opened up a second PPP loan opportunity for businesses that had already used up their first PPP loan but had, at the same time, experienced a 25 percent or greater decrease in revenue.

However, senior officials at the SBA have indicated that the program could exhaust its funding as early as mid-April if application approvals continue at their current rate.

“It’s critically important that we help as many local businesses as possible to take advantage of PPP,” said Walker. “Chuck Schumer and his colleagues at the federal level did their job in terms of allocating these critical funds. Now, it’s our duty to get that money into the hands of business owners who desperately need it.”

To this end, the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce launched a targeted digital outreach campaign earlier this month, as a final push to maximize the number of businesses applying for PPP loans across New York City.

The chamber is also helping businesses with the application process. Through the Small Business Resource Network (SBRN), of which the chamber is a service partner, businesses in New York City can receive free help with the following matters:

• determining if a PPP loan is right for them;
• getting connected with potential lenders;
• completing the application; and,
• navigating the process to achieve loan forgiveness, if applicable.

According to the chamber, as of April 2, 2021, the SBRN had directly helped 480 small businesses with PPP loan applications, about half of which were based in Manhattan and half elsewhere. Learn more about the SBRN at www.smallbiz.nyc.

Other relief is available to restaurants and similar businesses via the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). This program is open to the following entities which have experienced pandemic-related revenue loss: