NEW YORK – Ahead of a NYC Council Small Business Committee hearing, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer and Council Member Helen Rosenthal urged the City Council to pass their bill Int 2299-2021, which would amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to lease agreements concerning storefront premises, and create a Bill of Rights to protect storeowners. The bill looks to limit vacancies throughout New York City by providing business owners who rent stores with the Right to Information, the Right to Fair Process and Consideration, and the Right to Government Transparency.
Borough President Brewer and Council Member Rosenthal issued a joint statement stating: “COVID-19 has left our storefronts vacant across the city. The City Council must pass protections now so they are in place as businesses begin to fill these spaces, otherwise, our small businesses will continue to be left to fend for themselves. The Storefront Business Bill of Rights tackles lease issues by improving transparency between tenant and landlord, providing model leases in every City designated language, and establishing a right to renew.”
“The Storefront Bill of Rights is all about opening up communication between storefront tenants and property owners, and creating standard lease agreements that can be understood in the multiple languages that New York City business and property owners speak,” said Carey King, Director of Uptown Grand Central. “We applaud these achievable, practical steps toward stabilizing and strengthening commercial corridors such as ours across the city.”
“How many more tragic small business stories do we need to hear? If NYC cannot address this disadvantage now, when will we?” said Laura Sewell, President of the East Village Community Coalition. “Most people are surprised to learn that reasonable commercial lease protections- such as a standardized commercial lease, an estimate of any other charges associated with the lease, the ability to reach your landlord to discuss the future of your business relationship- are not already in place. Most of our neighborhood favorites go into business to realize their dreams, and without these basic protections, they are at a tremendous disadvantage. We have an opportunity to change that by passing the Storefront Bill of Rights.”
“This bill is not about rent control, this bill is about doing what is right and needed at this moment to help our small businesses survive and recover from this pandemic,” said Quenia Abreu, President, New York Women’s Chamber of Commerce. “Every day we are losing hundreds of storefront businesses by not having legislation in place that gives commercial tenants rights when their lease expires. Drastic times call for drastic measures. These are drastic times, and we need drastic measures like the passing of the passing of Int. 2299, the Storefront Bill of Rights if we want our small businesses to survive! The NYC Council needs to pass this bill now before it is too late!”
“The Storefront Business Bill of Rights is a critical piece of legislation that will make a tremendous impact in combatting the rise of historically-high rents for storefront retail spaces,” said Jeffrey Garcia, President of the New York State Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated a situation that was untenable for many businesses even prior to the pandemic. This bill will ensure that small businesses have protections written into their lease agreements that will ensure they have a fighting chance to keep their doors open while at the same time reducing the amount of vacant storefronts across the city. We want to commend the bill’s sponsors Council Member Helen Rosenthal and Borough President Gale Brewer for advancing this legislation and look forward to its passage.”
As part of the Bill of Rights, landlords must provide tenants with a one-time one-year extension, with a shorter extension if the landlord has another tenant lined up to lease the property. Landlords must also provide prospective tenants with a Certificate of Occupancy, a line-item breakdown of the tenant’s costs (e.g., utilities, BID fees, commercial rent tax), a two-year projection of the same costs, and a ten-year history of building violations. For tenants with a lease of one year or longer, a written lease must be provided. Another section of the bill calls on the Department of Small Business Services to create a searchable and interactive guide to city laws, regulations, licenses, permits, operational requirements, and required certifications for every storefront business.
Source: The Office of the Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer