As New York looks to fully reopen from the Covid-19 pandemic, rebuilding the local economy is paramount. At the heart of our local economy is small businesses that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. An estimated 30 percent of small businesses in New York City closed. To drum up support for small business NYC announced the Shop Your City challenge.
The “Shop Your City” Challenge is a 30-day multi-channel marketing campaign featuring a contest and chance to win a $50 gift card. Take a photo of yourself supporting a local business in New York City then upload it to nyc.gov/shopyourcity. 3 ways you can support small businesses are:
- Shop safely in person or online
- Buy a gift card
- Order delivery or curbside pickup
An Instagramable contest from late May to late June is a fun little way to spread the love for small businesses as well to show the world that not only is New York City not dead, but it is back up and thriving. However, small businesses need real support. It is crucial that NYC move ahead with a package of bills that would provide much needed regulatory relief. Currently discussed are relief for small businesses from certain sanitation, health, transportation, consumer affairs, noise control and building violations. It would set fixed penalties at the bottom of existing penalty ranges, lower existing penalty ceilings (or sometimes set a lower fixed amount), or lower existing fixed penalties. The bill would allow a cure period for a first violation, or it would eliminate the civil penalty and require a warning for a first violation. For some sanitation violations, where the bill would eliminate the first violation civil penalty, a cure period would be allowed for a second violation.
Another thing NYC must do to rebuild the local economy from Covid-19 is to enact policies aimed at protecting and growing industrial jobs. These are not just vital jobs, but the higher pay and growth opportunities make them family-supporting careers. In fact, the average wage for an employee in the manufacturing sector is around $69,000 as opposed to around $38,000 in retail and $31,000 in food services
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