Retail Vacancies and Small Businesses

The Retail Vacancy Crisis is not only a threat to our economy, but also a threat to our community’s urban fabric. Small businesses are the backbone of a thriving neighborhood and we must work to support them. Even before COVID-19 our community faced a small business crisis. Almost 1 in 7 storefronts in the neighborhood were vacant. I am advocating for a plan that addresses this issue and really focuses on how to aid the businesses seeking to fill the storefronts. We can increase demand by easing the economic burden on running a small business in this City and in this State. We should repeal the commercial rent tax and create a more equitable property tax system to give small businesses relief. We also need more robust enforcement of an online retail sales tax to level the playing field between brick and mortar business and e-commerce. Our City and State must begin an overhaul of its rules and fines for inspections to ensure that we’re working with business owners to explain the rationale of the rules and that we’re working together to ensure compliance. Onerous fines on well-intentioned businesses do not help our communities.

Additionally, we must reform the State Liquor Authority to rely more on community input and establish a more standardized application process to make it easier to obtain liquor permits. In the age of e-commerce, food service businesses are the most likely to survive and some retail businesses might need a liquor component to enhance their customer experience. This process should be streamlined to aid businesses and to also increase the voice of the local community in decisions that primarily affect them.

Finally, we need specific measures that help businesses who have been hit hard during COVID-19. Essential and non-essential businesses alike have greatly suffered during this crisis. I support interest-free loans to small businesses to help them make it through this trying time. The Legislature and the Governor must approve a bill to codify a 90-day rent holiday for businesses that cannot pay rent due to the economic crisis. The eviction moratorium is not enough, rent must be forgiven. Furthermore, I support adjusting business interruption insurance to cover losses due to the virus. Many small businesses spent tens of thousands of dollars to protect their businesses from an uncontrollable economic crisis. The COVID-19 crisis is exactly the type of crisis that should have been covered.