New York Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program

14 Jun New York Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program

Pandemic Small Business Recovery Grant Program

New York State has granted permission to Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency, to begin accepting applications and making more than $800 million available in grants for small-businesses. The window to apply for this grant has been open since June 10, 2021 and a maximum amount of $50,000 per applicant is allowed. Priority will be given to those business that are owned by women, veterans, and members of minority groups or located in poor neighborhoods. The grant money that is received can be used towards paying payroll, rent or mortgage payments, taxes, utilities, PPE and other business expenses incurred between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.

Eligibility for Grant

An “Eligible Applicant” is any small business, micro-business, and For-Profit independent arts and cultural organizations that were opened and active on or before March 1, 2019 and continue operations until the date of application (this includes any shutdown/pause of operations due to a government order). All Eligible Applications must show proof of gross receipts between $25,000 and $500,000 for either 2019 or 2020, and must be in a positive net profit position on their 2019 Business Return. They must also provide proof of a decline in Gross Receipts of at least 25% in a year-to-year comparison no later than December 31, 2020 to the same period in 2019.

Interaction with Federal COVID-19 Relief Programs

Any small business that qualified and received assistance from any Federal grant program under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 or any other available COVID-19 economic recovery or business assistance grant programs may still qualify.

Eligible Applicants can still qualify for the NYS Small Business Recovery Grant Program if they received any of the following federal assistance:

• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Loan totaling $100,000 or less
• COVID-19 EIDL Advance Grant of $10,000 or less
• COVID-19 EIDL Supplemental Targeted Advance Grant of $5,000 or less
• SBA Shuttered Venue Operators Grant of $150,000 or less

Businesses Not Eligible

• All Non-Profits, Churches and other religious institutions
• Government-owned entities or elected official offices
• Businesses primarily engaged in political or lobbying activities
• Businesses that received money from the SBA Restaurant Revitalization Grant Program
• Landlords (passive real estate businesses)
• Businesses that received more than the allowed government aid amount listed above
• Businesses that have more than $500,000 or less than $25,000 gross receipts during 2019 and 2020

 Grant Award Amount Calculation

Eligible Use of Grant Funds

Eligible Applicants who are awarded grant money from New York State are allowed to use the money to pay any COVID-19 related expenses that were incurred between March 1, 2020 and April 1, 2021.

These expenses include:

• Payroll Costs
• Commercial Rent or mortgage payments
• Payment of local property or school taxes
• Insurance Costs
• Utility costs
• Costs of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) costs
• Other machinery or equipment costs
• Supplies and materials necessary for compliance with COVID-19 health and safety protocols

Documentation Requirements

To document the reduction in gross receipts by at least 25%, New York State requires your 2019 and 2020 Business Income Tax Returns be submitted with the application.

To show proof that your business has a physical location and is still currently in operation, New York state requires any two (2) of the following:

• Current lease agreement
• Most recent utility bill
• Current business bank statement
• Current business mortgage statement
• Business credit card statement
• Business insurance bill
• Payment processing statement
• NYS ST-809 or ST-100 sales tax collection documentation

To complete the application for the grant, applicant must submit a schedule of ownership information for all owners with 20% or more ownership of the business. New York State requires the following for all qualifying owners:

• Name
• Address
• Social Security Number
• Phone Number
• Email
• Percentage of Ownership
• Photo ID

Fuller Lowenberg’s Response

We urge our clients to review the qualifications to determine if they are eligible for this program. If you are eligible, the next step would be to gather all required documentation for submission because the application window has already opened and due to a limited amount of funding and the high volume of applications expected, your business type, geography, and industry may factor into your ability to receive a grant. Priority will be given to socially and economically disadvantaged business owners including, but not limited to, minority and women-owned business enterprises, service-disabled veteran-owned business, and veteran owned business, or businesses located in communities that were economically distressed prior to March 1, 2020, as determined by the most recent census data.