At VID’s March 12th General Meeting Small Business Survival received more attention.
VID member Sharon Woolums, one of the organizers of the March 5th Forum and Steve Null, Founder of the Coalition to Save New York Small Businesses spoke more about organizing communities on behalf of the Small Business Survival Act which has lingered in the New York City Council for more than two decades.
Since the well-attended forum, co-sponsored by VID and The Villager, small business survival has been featured in many headlines, the latest from Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer, who recently released a study on the state of NYC small businesses and then held a Press Conference at the Halal Guys restaurant on the Upper West Side on March 23rd, to endorse a proposal that would mandate mediation between landlords and commercial tenants. The Borough President’s proposal differs some from the Small Business Survival Act stuck in City Council chambers – in particular it would not include a 10-year lease requirement.
And then there is #SaveNYC, a campaign and website launched four weeks ago by Jeremiah Moss of Jeremiah’s Vanishing New York. Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito seems to be a follower.
You can read The Villager’s coverage of the Forum at Judson Church here
Also on hand at the March 12th meeting were Deborah Glick and Brad Hoylman who were able to take a break from budget discussions to update VID members on developments in Albany.