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A New York state law passed last week will establish eviction and foreclosure protections for small businesses.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act into law on March 9. The legislation allows businesses with less than 50 employees or less than 10 locations to avoid evictions through May 1 if they file a financial hardship declaration.

The law builds on the state moratorium on residential evictions, which was extended until May 1. The legislation gives small businesses that are struggling financially the right to fend off eviction until the law expires. Lawmakers said the law is meant to eliminate the fear of landlords evicting businesses for not covering rent during the extended moratorium period.

Small businesses in Syracuse that have been dealing with the financial burden of the pandemic said relief from state and local governments has made a considerable difference in their operations.

Owners of some restaurants and bars in downtown Syracuse, like Funk n’ Waffles in Armory Square, said they’ve had to be innovative about how to stay open during the pandemic. The restaurant, which usually hosts live music events, has been forced to come up with other ways to make money, said Adam Gold, the restaurant’s owner.

“We basically lost two-thirds of income because we can’t sell tickets or have live events,” Gold said.

The two paycheck protection programs and several grants from the city of Syracuse have helped the restaurant keep its doors open, Gold said.

Funk n’ Waffles has remained open for dine-in service with reduced hours and pushed takeout options. Haley Robertson | Fundraising Coordinator

The paycheck protection program loans gave Gold’s restaurant more money to help pay salary wages and keep his current staff of 13 employees working. City grants helped the restaurant expand its delivery and takeout services.

Now, the additional protection from the small business eviction protections will give Gold more financial security to keep Funk n’ Waffles open late into the winter season.

In recent months, Funk n’ Waffles has been open for dine-in service with reduced hours and put more of an emphasis on takeout and shipping out original pre-packaged waffles, Gold said.

As downtown Syracuse starts to come back to life, Gold said that he and his coworkers are planning for the return of live shows. In the coming weeks, the restaurant will be hosting music on Monday nights. As the summer approaches, it will add live music events on the weekends.

The Sweet Praxis, a bakery in Armory Square, has been able to sustain enough business during the pandemic to keep up with its rent.

The bakery’s co-owner Natalie Evans said that all the small businesses in the downtown area rely on each other’s success to reel in more business at their own establishments.

“Our view is that when our other small business neighbors can keep their doors open, it only helps maintain our own business and our neighborhood as a whole,” Evans said.

Published on March 16, 2021 at 10:01 pm

Contact Benjamin: beschill@syr.edu