Stringer Calls for N.Y. City to Help Small Businesses

Nearly one-third of small business owners wait six months or longer for necessary approvals from New York City to open shop, according to a survey that city Comptroller Scott Stringer's red-tape commission released on March 29.

Four in 10, said Stringer, had to hire private expeditors to navigate city bureaucracy. The commission's final report includes 60 recommendations to ease the burden on small businesses.

Co-chairs of the panel, consisting of 31 small business leaders, are Jessica Lappin, president of the Alliance for Downtown New York, and Michael Lambert, executive director of the Bed-Stuy Gateway Business Improvement District.

"Small businesses are the backbone of our city's economy, but too often government is a barrier, not a partner, in helping them grow," Stringer said. "When it takes months on end to get permits and half of business owners don't feel like they get a fair shake from the city, it's time to take a sledgehammer to the bureaucracy."

The panel explored ways to improve conditions for small businesses by listening directly to scores of small business owners at hearings in all five boroughs and conducting an online survey of almost 300 entrepreneurs in a variety of sectors. Stringer called city bureaucracy a "labyrinth" that includes more than 6,000 rules, 250 licenses and permits, and 15 agencies.

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New York
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