SPURRING THE GROWTH OF SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses are the engine of the Bronx economy, making up the great majority of the business in the borough. Therefore, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión Jr. has been dedicated to promoting small businesses growth, using his leadership to fight to support small businesses in Bronx. He believes that by establishing businesses, increasing construction and increasing investments in the area will lead to increased property value and new employment opportunities for Bronx residents.

Carrión is partnering with the Office of William J. Clinton to replicate the Harlem Small Business Initiative in the Bronx . The Bronx Initiative is a program to help small businesses in the Bronx compete in a changing marketplace where large, well-financed companies have entered the local economy. The program provides expert technical assistance to a pool of selected local entrepreneurs. Major consulting firms, MBA-organizations and local graduate schools of business contribute the expertise.

• Currently, the Bronx Terminal Market is tenanted by food wholesale businesses that rent month-to-month with no long-term leases. Development of the regional shopping center would mean displacement for the scores of small businesses currently operating in the market, businesses which by their nature would be better served in the Hunts Point food market. The Bronx Borough President and the Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (BOEDC) will assist these businesses using Empowerment Zone (EZ) funds to move and expand within the EZ.

• Economic and industrial development has been among the top priorities over the past year. This year, the Bronx Initiative Corporation approved six loans totaling $2,757,000 to small businesses. These six loans helped to leverage funds from banks totaling $4,091,150 and private equity investments of $919,050. To date, the Bronx Improvement Corporation has closed and sold seven debentures totaling $2,154,000 for small businesses. As a result, they have leveraged $3,874,500 from banks and private equity investments, helping to grow small business in the Bronx.