Suffolk County has announced a new program to provide Small Business Resiliency Grants to gyms, salons/barber shops, and restaurants/bars adversely impacted by COVID-19. The online application portal opens on Thursday, December 17.
Up to $1 million in funding is available through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) provided to the county from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Shelter Island businesses may qualify, along with those located in five other Suffolk County towns that make up the Suffolk CDBG Consortium.
According to a quick reference guide posted on the county website, funds are offered as a one-time payment to eligible applicants. Businesses with up to 10 full-time equivalent employees can win grants of up to $5,000; those with 11 to 49 FTE employees can get up to $10,000.
Eligibility criteria
Only gyms, hair salons/barbers, nail salons, restaurants/bars are eligible. To qualify for assistance, the applicant must:
- Be a Suffolk County small business owner (applicant must be 51+ percent majority owner) whose business is located within one of the participating Consortium municipalities (see below)
- Have been in operation prior to March 1, 2019
- Be in operation at the time of application (businesses that have ceased operations due to the pandemic are ineligible)
- Have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees
- Demonstrate loss of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- Demonstrate they have at least one (1) low-income employee they will retain
- Be a for-profit organization (nonprofit organizations are ineligible)
- Not be in default or arrears on past or current Federal or State financing or funding programs
- Not be in conflict of interest with Suffolk County, the County Legislature, the local municipality, or the operating program agency
Eligible areas of assistance
Applicants must own an eligible business located within the Suffolk CDBG Consortium area:
- Town of East Hampton and the Village of Sag Harbor
- Town of Riverhead
- Town of Smithtown and the Village of the Branch
- Town of Southampton and the Villages of Sag Harbor, Southampton, Westhampton Beach and Westhampton Dunes
- Town of Southold, excluding incorporated villages
- Town of Shelter Island, excluding incorporated villages
Small business resiliency grants, a safety net
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone announced the program on Friday, December 11 as part of Suffolk BACKSTOP, a new initiative to offset economic hardship imposed by the pandemic. In a separate component, certain rental tenants may qualify to participate in a lottery for one-time payments of up $2,500 in rent (read about that program in this Gazette post).
“This new safety net will ensure that small businesses in Suffolk County have access to a financial lifeline at a time when many are adjusting or repurposing their operations to comply with the state’s COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines,” he said in a news release.
Learn more about the program and the link to apply (which goes live on December 17) at suffolkcountyny.gov/Departments/Economic-Development-and-Planning/Business-Recovery-Unit.
