Assemblyman Al Stirpe (D-Cicero) announced that the 2021-22 state budget includes vital funding, which he championed, to help small businesses struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as assistance for restaurants and workers.

“In order for our state to truly recover, we must do all we can to help the mom and pop shops, which are the backbone of Central New York’s economy, heal from this devastating crisis,” Stirpe said. “The 2021-22 state budget is a win for these businesses, with funding for a new grant program to help them afford basic business costs as well as funds to support local restaurants and help New Yorkers facing financial hardship. These investments are a critical step in our recovery process, and I’ll continue fighting to help our families and small businesses build back from this pandemic stronger than before.”

As chair of the Assembly Committee on Small Business and co-chair of a working group focused on New York’s post-COVID economic recovery, Stirpe was an outspoken advocate for securing funding for small businesses in the state budget to help them recover and heal. To that end, the budget includes $800 million to establish the COVID-19 Pandemic Small Businesses Recovery Grant Program, which will be administered by the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC). The program will provide grants and technical assistance to small businesses and microbusinesses with less than 10 employees that have experienced hardship during the pandemic and give priority to socially and economically disadvantaged business owners. The grants could be used to cover business costs such as payroll, rent or mortgage, insurance or pandemic-related expenditures. The budget also helps restaurants affected by the pandemic by allocating $25 million for the NY Restaurant Resiliency Grant Program and $35 million in tax credits for restaurants in areas impacted by enhanced COVID restrictions.