'It's kind of depressing.' The City Comptroller’s Office reacts to a report that showed a program meant to assist small businesses in the early days of the pandemic disproportionately benefited companies in Manhattan, while sidelining those in the Bronx.
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"It's kind of depressing,” City Comptroller Brad Lander said in an interview. “I don't think it was in any way the intention of the Department of Small Business Services , but Manhattan small businesses were significantly overserved and Bronx small businesses in particular were really significantly underserved."
Josh J. Jameson, SBS deputy press secretary, issued a statement for the agency noting that it sprung quickly into action in March 2020, when neither the geographical nor industrial impact of the pandemic was known, making it "impossible to plan ahead for changes in eligibility requirements." The statement continued: "Similarly, it would have been impossible to estimate where the pandemic would be most detrimental to small businesses and commercial corridors.
Lander said that while the audit didn’t explain the disparities in funding support, it possibly reflects “a higher percentage of white small business owners versus a higher percentage of Latino and Black small business owners of color.”“If you’ve got a real strong business improvement district or you’re tied in with a lot of other suppliers and they tell you, that’s one thing that’s really helpful,” he said.
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