NYC Department of Small Business Services

Maria Springer-Torres Announced as New First Deputy Mayor, Replacing Sheena Wright

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced on Tuesday, Oct. 8, that Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for housing, economic development, and workforce, will become the next first deputy mayor, replacing  following former First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright, who resigned on Tuesday, as reported. It comes amid the ongoing turmoil at City Hall surrounding the recently announced federal bribery charges brought against Adams, which has shaken the Adams administration to its core. The mayor pled not guilty to the charges on Sept. 27 and has moved to dismiss the case.

Community Goes Green as Earth Day is Celebrated in Norwood and Fordham Manor

By MIRIAM QUIÑONES
  Jerome Gun Hill Business Improvement District (BID) held a free Earth Day event, together with Friends of Mosholu Parkland (FOMP), at the Jerome Garden Plaza under Mosholu Parkway subway station by Jerome Avenue in Norwood on Saturday, April 22, 2023.   From noon to 3 p.m., volunteers joined kids and BID and FOMP representatives for a community clean-up, beautification, giveaways, healthy food, and other activities.    Elizabeth Quaranta, executive director of FOMP and who also runs the Keeper’s House Community “Edible” Garden on the Reservoir Oval in Norwood, is recovering from a knee injury but didn’t miss the event.


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Torres’ Highest Priority for Small Business: Access to Capital

By JULIAN ROBERTS-GRMELA
Ahead of Election Day, Nov. 8, and in a bid perhaps to win over his future constituents in New York’s redrawn 15th Congressional District, Rep. Ritchie Torres has said one of his highest priorities is to provide small businesses with access to capital. The Democratic congressman was speaking at a virtual forum held on Thursday, Oct. 13, hosted by Biz2Credit, an NYC-based lending company for small businesses. Torres appeared as a guest alongside Long Island Republican, Rep. Andrew Garbarino.   “One of my strongest priorities is to ensure that we are doing everything we can in Congress to support the


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Vanessa Gibson Holds Annual “Herstory” Celebration at NYBG

By SARAH HUFFMAN
  Editor’s Note: The following is an updated version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.   Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson held the annual “Herstory” celebration on Thursday, March 10, at the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), an event which honored five women for achievements in their respective fields to mark Women’s History Month.   Gibson welcomed the guests saying, “March is Women’s ‘Herstory’ Month, and it is a time of the year when we celebrate our women and all of the great contributions that our sisters have made to history, to culture, society,” before


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Little Italy: Adams Lunches with Local Officials to Help Promote City’s Restaurants

By SÍLE MOLONEY
New York City Mayor Eric Adams joined local, Bronx elected officials and others on Arthur Avenue in the Little Italy section of the Bronx on Sunday to highlight the importance of the City’s restaurants and restaurant workers to New York’s economy.   The mayor was heard highlighting the need to support hospitality workers, saying, “I was a dishwasher so you know, sometimes people don’t connect the dots, man, you know? We need these restaurants.”   Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliance, chair of NYC Nightlife Advisory Board, 1st vice chair of Manhattan Community Board 7, and host of


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Bronx Townhall Addresses Complexity of COVID-19 Business Regulations

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
Amid the ongoing pandemic, the Bronx has been labelled the hardest hit borough. From a health perspective, though the number of actual deaths was not the highest in the City at 4,884 people, the borough’s COVID-19 death rate per head of population is the City’s highest, so far, at 0.34 percent. Staten Island’s COVID-19 death rate is 0.26 percent, Manhattan’s 0.20 percent, Brooklyn’s 0.30 percent, and Queens 0.33 percent.   But the borough’s economy has suffered badly too. Last summer, as reported, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report and accompanying statement, substantiating the similarly harsh impact on its economy. “More


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NYC Urges Bronxites to “Shop Your City,” as Small Business Commissioner Tours Fordham Road

By JOSÉ A. GIRALT
  Last spring The New York Times described Fordham Road as one of the city’s “retail zones [that] have bounced back.” The article included data that described the Bronx as a borough that had lost 40 percent of its businesses, had the highest rate of COVID-19 deaths, and an unemployment rate near 18 percent. Yet, the biggest shopping district in the Bronx, Fordham Road with its 175 storefronts, located between Washington and Jerome Avenues, has retained a 3 percent vacancy rate, the same as before the pandemic hit.   The significance of the robust numbers is not lost on city


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Neighborhood Notes on Free College Offer for Vaccinated Students, Summer Friday Events & More

Mass Vaccination Sites All New York State mass vaccination sites are now open to eligible New Yorkers for walk-in vaccination on a first come first served basis. In addition, all vaccine providers are encouraged to allow walk-in appointments for eligible New Yorkers. People who would prefer to schedule an appointment at a state-run mass vaccination site can do so on the Am I Eligible App or by calling (877) 829-4692.   COVID-19 Testing Sites For a full list of COVID-19 testing sites, text “COVID TEST” to 855-48 or go to: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/coronavirus/get-tested/covid-19-testing.page.   Reopening New York City There have been numerous


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