Int. No. 1072-A
By Council Members Reyna, Barron, Brewer, Cabrera, Chin, Comrie, James, King, Koo, Lander, Mendez, Palma, Vallone, Levin, Gennaro, Gentile, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Dromm, Van Bramer, Dickens, Eugene, Lappin, Williams and Ulrich
A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to a small business and non-profit organization recovery plan in response to emergency events.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Chapter 1 of title 30 of the administrative code of the city of New York is amended by adding a new section 30-107 to read as follows:
§ 30-107 Small business and non-profit organization recovery plan. a. (1) The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner of small business services and other government or private organizations having expertise in non-profit organization and insurance matters, shall develop or update no later than December first, two thousand thirteen, a small business and non-profit organization recovery plan to be utilized after coastal storms and other severe weather and natural disaster events.
(2) In developing such plan, the department of small business services shall, in consultation with other city agencies, chambers of commerce, or other private organizations having expertise in such matters, work with small business owners and non-profit organizations throughout New York city to identify critical resources necessary for the continued functioning of such small businesses and non-profit organizations during and after such events.
(3) The plan developed or updated in accordance with this section shall include but need not be limited to the following features, provided that nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the ability of agencies responding to an emergency to implement plans, modify plans, or take steps not described in any written plan, in a manner appropriate to circumstances particular to that emergency: (i) an evaluation of the potential impact of disruptions on small businesses and non-profit organizations as a result of such events, including a mechanism to conduct an impact analysis for major categories of small businesses and non-profit organizations, as determined by the commissioner of small business services, in order to identify disruptions unique to each such category, and the implementation of measures to prevent or mitigate such disruptions and to support recovery of the small business and non-profit sectors; (ii) the establishment of a voluntary database of small businesses and non-profit organizations, including but not limited to utilizing any existing database of small businesses and non-profit organizations maintained by the department of small business services, to provide that such businesses and organizations receive alerts regarding such events, recovery assistance, and other relevant information and to conduct outreach with such small businesses and non-profit organizations to encourage their registration in such database; (iii) conducting a survey of small business owners and non-profit organizations after such events to identify resources necessary for recovery, which shall include but not be limited to an assessment of small businesses such as whether a business is open, closed or partially in operation, damage to business facilities, lost revenues, the number of employees affected and whether there is a plan for employees to return to such business if such employees are unable to work, whether additional workers are needed or hired to assist with recovery efforts, a description of the type of assistance necessary for recovery, the type and amount of insurance that such business has, and whether such business has filed insurance claims and the status of such claims; (iv) strategies to inform such small businesses and non-profit organizations about how to obtain such resources before, during and after such events; and (v) coordination with non-profit organizations that are capable of assisting small business owners with loan and grant applications, and business counseling services to facilitate and expedite recovery.
b. To the extent practicable, all public communications, written or otherwise, with small businesses and non-profit organizations as set forth in this section, shall be available in the most commonly spoken languages of affected communities.
§ 2. This local law shall take effect immediately.
MRM/JC/TN
7-16-13 9:27 PM