Some small business owners say the incoming $15 an hour minimum wage will hurt their business unless they're given a tax break to help pay employees.
Sam Amoah, the owner of Sam's Soul Food Restaurant Bar and Lounge on the Grand Concourse, says that while he supports raising the minimum wage, he's not sure if he can pay for it.
Under the new law, businesses with 10 employees or less, like Sam's Soul Food, have to raise their minimum wage to $10.50 by the end of 2016, and then another $1.50 every year until they reach $15 by 2019.
Amoah says that since his business is struggling, he and other small business owners should be granted a tax break to help pay for the higher minimum wage.
"And I'm not the only one worried, there's a lot of people that I know of who are worried," Amoah says.
He says without a tax break, small businesses may lay off workers and freeze hiring.