Francesca Bruce testifies in support of all four bills on behalf of Grand Street BID
Francesca Bruce of the Grand Street BID in East Williamsburg supports all four bills, highlighting that nearly half of storefronts are minority or women-owned and 35% report declining business. She describes Intro 874 as reforming perverse displacement incentives, Intro 90 as leveling the playing field, and Intro 408 as going beyond education to direct assistance.
Good afternoon, and thank you all so much for this.
I'm Francesca Bruce with the Grand Street Business Improvement District in East Williamsburg.
You might remember me.
Supporting all the bills championed here today.
The sweat equity of our small businesses, particularly our immigrant and MWBEs, has made our beloved neighborhood what it is.
Today, nearly half of our storefronts are minority or women-owned.
The vast majority rent.
Amidst exploding rents, vacancy rates higher than the citywide average.
35% of our merchants reported declining business.
Yet these merchants have zero control over the forces that determine whether they survive.
And these intelligent and timely bills speak exactly to our needs and recommendations, as my colleague here will elucidate.
In 874, the Legacy Business Registry and Preservation Fund offers real survival tools to legacy businesses, including direct grants to legacy businesses and long-term incentives for landlords to lock them in and keep them in the face of speculation.
While this may seem expensive or landlord-oriented, it in fact accomplishes a very rare feat of reforming and balancing a perverse incentive structure that favors displacement.
22% of our businesses have been here 20 years or longer.
These are critical legacy institutions, and they are at high and immediate risk of displacement, so we support this bill.
In 90, the storefront business bill of rights levels a drastically unequal playing field, helping to slow the engines of speculation, commercial warehousing, gentrification, and displacement.
And 408, the content creator matching program, goes beyond the typical SBS approach of mere education to ensure smaller businesses who may not have time for an expo or funds to implement SBS recommendations
can actually afford and secure direct assistance on a critical tool to adapt, grow, and remain economically viable.
Together, these bills stabilize our community, honor our history, and give small businesses a genuine chance to endure.
We urge you to pass all of these.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.