Small Business Aid

The small business climate in our city is atrocious.  Mom and pops need help!  Small businesses historically accounted for 51% of our state’s total jobs (Small Business Advocacy). Unemployment in New York is high. No wonder our state is ranked the 49th unfriendliest for businesses (Tax Foundation).
Small businesses are not reimbursed for burdensome regulations and as a result middle-class and lower-class New Yorkers are hurting. Lets institute the following measures to fix what the two-party system has broken.

1. Reduced Fees & Regulations.  Reduce fees and regulations on small businesses. Penalties should be on a sliding scale since penalties are supposed to protect the public by halting dangerous business practices. Having the same fine for small businesses and large corporations hurts the small business but does nothing to curb the behavior of the larger corporation.
2. Tax Relief.  Reduce New York business tax rates, one of the highest in the nation on small businesses (Federation of Tax Administration). Given this crippling tax rate and new regulations for which small businesses are not reimbursed, it is no wonder that most New Yorkers are having increasing difficulty finding jobs.
3. Tax Credits.  Institute a new tax credit for small businesses that offer their employees fair sick days and pension plans.
4. Empower Community Boards.  Give every community board two seats in zoning boards to ensure that the community has a voice in zoning and building decisions. Revise the city charter to ensure this.
5. Fine Predatory Corporations.  Severely fine predatory behavior by large corporations to protect small business owners who live in our city. They are the lifeblood of New York and must be protected by their elected government. Government must protect its citizens, not kowtow to wealthy real-estate tycoons.
6. Rent Controls & Evictions. Community Boards should be empowered to prevent landlords from giving the boot to mom and pop stores that are in good standing and satisfy rent.   I will lobby to enact statutes to ensure that small-business rent increases reflect the inflation rate plus reasonable cause for increases. Landlords will apply for permission to raise rent beyond the inflation rate.
7. Corporations Abuse.  Out-of-state and S&P 500 corporations shall not be allowed to push out mom and pops aided by landlord holdovers designed to scare away local store owners in good standing. Landlords holding stores vacant for more than three months will be severely fined unless they demonstrate cause and show that they are not holding out to enlist rich corporate entities for higher rent.
8. Landlord Abuse.  Tax landlords heavily for keeping stores empty for more than 3 months. Lower taxes for store owners who are NYC residents. Remove burdensome, time-consuming and costly paperwork.
9. Zoning Board Accountability.  We must grant Community Boards the right to oppose corporate actions harmful to local business owners by granting boards two votes in zoning boards. Boards must have teeth and be more than “opinions” ignored by powerful and well-endowed real estate tycoons.