Jessica Walker of Manhattan Chamber of Commerce testifies on Intro 90, 874, and 408
Jessica Walker supports most of Intro 90's transparency provisions but opposes the mandatory lease extension, arguing it would hurt first-time and immigrant-owned businesses. She strongly supports Intro 874's voluntary incentive model and Intro 408's content creator pilot, and notes the chamber's free help desk at bizhelp.nyc.
Good afternoon, chair and members of the committee.
I'm Jessica Walker, president and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.
We represent the borough's 125,000 businesses.
I'll start with Intro 90.
We support most of it, requiring a written lease, giving tenants clear disclosures about the space they're signing for, and posting model leases in multiple languages.
These are simple, overdue protections, and we urge you to pass them.
But we cannot support the mandatory one-year extension at a capped rent.
It's too small to save a struggling business and just large enough to change how every landlord in the city underwrites a lease.
When it's harder to end the tenancy, owners get pickier about starting one.
Bigger deposits, personal guarantees, a preference for tenants with a strong balance sheet.
The first time in immigrant-owned businesses we work with every day are the ones who can't clear that bar.
A holdover doesn't fix the problem.
It delays the same conversation by 12 months.
The real problem.
is that tenants arrive at renewal with no credible way to leave.
Relocating in Manhattan today means a year of dark rent, a permit gauntlet, and lost customers.
So the threat to walk away means nothing, and landlords are often negotiating from a place of strength.
Our research shows storefronts stay empty for years, not months, for the same reasons.
We will be releasing a full brief about this soon.
But long story short, if you make it possible to open a store in 90 days instead of a year, every tenant in the borough walks into a renewal with real alternatives if needed, and therefore a more balanced negotiation.
That's why we strongly support Intro 874.
A preservation fund that pays property owners to offer 10-year leases puts money on the table.
It's not a mandate.
It's the deal both sides will sign.
We also support Intro 408.
Small businesses tell us marketing is where they feel most outgunned.
A content creator pilot is low cost and worth running.
We tested something similar and know it can work.
Finally, to any business owner listening, if you're facing a lease question, a permit, a fine, I was just going to say go to bizhelp.nyc.
That's our free help desk, and we'll get you an answer.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Next up is Catherine.
You may begin.