Morano questions Khan on Intro 874 landlord vs. business funding disparity
Morano points out that under Intro 874 a landlord could receive up to $22,500 while a five-person business gets only $2,500, and asks what safeguards ensure landlords pass benefits to businesses. Khan says the registry should move first and the fund requires further discussion with sponsors.
Let me ask you about Intro 874.
I'm a lover of legacy businesses.
Nobody cheered louder than me when the Carnegie Deli reopened yesterday.
And I am proud to co-sponsor Intro 874, which is one of the many great ideas that Councilmember Maloney has already brought to this council in a short time.
I appreciate the effort to preserve businesses that have become part of our neighborhoods.
They're the ones that sponsor Little League teams.
They're the one that people have fond recollections of neighborhoods about.
It's never a chain restaurant.
It's always, you know, Joe's Diner.
I do have a question about where the money actually goes.
Under this legislation, a legacy business could receive $500 per full-time employee.
A five-person business could therefore qualify for $2,500.
Meanwhile, a landlord could receive $450 per square foot up to 5,000 square feet.
That's potential.
Essentially $22,500.
In that example, the landlord could receive nine times what the business receives.
What safeguards would ensure that a landlord receiving taxpayer money actually passes some meaningful benefit along to those businesses?
Thank you, Councilmember.
That is one of many things that we're factoring in as we analyze this bill, which is why we think a registry, for sure, is something we should all move on as soon as possible and something we're really excited to develop as a result in partnership with all of you.
And we also appreciate that in the bill, there is a nomination process where it's trusted community leaders like yourselves and others that would nominate and provide a rationale for who should be on such a registry.
That we think.
Should be one of the first things the city government does alongside all of you.
And then on the fund, it requires further discussions with both the sponsors and internally in the city.