$200K initiative to help small NYC businesses install panic buttons and other technology
The funding will be distributed equally among the five boroughs through the Five Borough Chamber Alliance Initiative, according to the New York City Council.
More Stories
Small businesses in New York City are about to receive some help that could make their businesses safer.
New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin announced Thursday $200,000 in Council discretionary funding to help small businesses across New York City purchase and install panic buttons and other security technology.
The funding will be split evenly across the five boroughs through the Five Borough Chamber Alliance Initiative. That's $40,000 for each borough.
Hakem Diakite, whose Brooklyn business was vandalized earlier this week, said the money could make a big difference.
"People can have a chance to grow their business, develop their business, do something better," Diakite said.
The funding comes as the city works to develop a permanent security program required under Local Law 120.
Eligible businesses include ground-floor retail establishments with 50 or fewer employees, with a priority for small businesses located outside of Business Improvement Districts and in low to moderate-income communities, as well as minority and women-owned businesses.
"It's a very good idea to help small businesses. It's very important to do that," Diakite said.
Fernando Mateo, a spokesperson for the United Bodega Association, said the funding is a step in the right direction from the current administration, but they want to see serious funding from the Mayor and other representatives.
"Bodegas are in every corner of the outer boroughs and every four corners of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island. You name it, we're there. We're not just bodegas. We are community centers. We are safe havens where people run into when they're being chased by someone that's trying to kill them. And that happens very often. We have seen many people die inside bodegas where, if they had a panic button, that the results might have been different," Mateo said.
