Half Of Brooklyn Businesses Are Struggling To Stay Open: Study

BROOKLYN, NY — The fight is not over for Brooklyn small businesses that have reopened since the coronavirus pandemic, a new study found.

More than half of 233 Brooklyn businesses surveyed by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce said they will struggle to stay open over the next three months given the financial strain of the COVID-19 crisis, which forced nearly all New York City businesses to close for months during a statewide PAUSE.

Driving the financial troubles seemed to be rent prices, according to the study. Only 28 percent of small businesses surveyed said they didn't pay rent in July, with 61 percent saying their landlords did not offer rent relief.

A whopping 74 percent said that rent relief is "very important" to supporting small businesses.

“Whether it is Coney Island boardwalk businesses suffocating from a closed amusement park or Brooklyn Heights businesses whose customers have fled the city, it’s clear that rent relief is urgently needed,” Chamber of Commerce President Randy Peers said.

“Leaders in the small business community, landlords, banks and policymakers need to respond with innovative solutions that provide immediate relief before we plunge any deeper into rent crisis."

The survey included small businesses in retail, hospitality, health and wellness, manufacturing, arts, entertainment and other industries, according to the organization.

It follows an ongoing Bring Brooklyn Back fundraiser the Chamber of Commerce started to help businesses struggling to stay afloat during the pandemic.

New York City entered Phase 4 of reopening its economy from the statewide stay-at-home order on Monday, though capacity restrictions to help with social distancing and prevent a resurgence of the virus are still in place.

On top of rent payments, Brooklyn business owners pointed to a lack of customer spending, the coronavirus' hit to New York City tourism and added costs for protective equipment as reasons they are struggling to stay open.

“Commercial retail vacancies already plagued the neighborhood before Covid-19,” said Maya Haddad Miller, co-owner of Brooklyn Beach Shop on Coney Island. “As a seasonal business, we’ve been effectively frozen since September 2019 and despite reopening, tourism is absent and general sales have sunk 80 percent. Without rent relief it’s anybody’s guess who will survive this summer.”

Besides rent relief, 84 percent of the businesses said cash grants and 60 percent said personal protective equipment are "very important" to saying open. 43 percent of the business owners said that business was “significantly less” during the first week of reopening.

Peers said officials should look into deferring rent payments, back-stopping mortgages through a federal guarantee and other methods to helping businesses.

He has taken eight commercial corridor tours throughout the borough since Phase 1 of reopening began in June.

So far, the Bring Back Brooklyn Fund has provided a total of 31 local small businesses with PPE grants totaling $27,000. Learn more here.