Helping Hands

Murphy signs $135M small business relief bill in Tenafly, tours Passaic

By: Matt Fagan
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... After he signed a bill to grant $135 million to help the state's small businesses, Governor Phil Murphy hit the road to remote the program he said will jump-start the local economy.
..... Murphy, who is running for reelection in November, [2021] first spoke to business owners in Tenbafly, then travel to Passaic, where the pandemic hurt local businesses.
..... Restaurants, hard hit by the COVID shutdown, were on the governor;s list. He signed the bill at Tenafly's Simply Vietnamese restaurant and stopped in to talk at El Alebrije Mexican Restaurant in Passaic.
..... "As Passaic goes, so goes New Jersey" Murphy said. "Small businesses are generally family-owned business es."
..... They also form the backbone of the state's middle class and i highly diverse towns like Passaic, Murphy said he saw the importance of fueling the economic recovery.
.... "As small businesses throughout New Jersey continue to struggle from the economic aftermath of COVID-19, we remain committed to providing them with the resources they need to recover," Murphy said.
..... The bill provides $135 million to small businesses throughout the state and will be administered by the Economic Development Authority as part of its Phase IV emergency Grant Program and NJ Community Stage Relief Grant Program.
..... The governor with Passaic Mayor Hector Lora and Council President and Assemblyman Gary Schaer then met with El Alebrije owners Juan and Maria Zuniga.
..... "When did you guys open?" he asked the Zunigas. "March 11, 2020."
..... "Jeeze," the governor responded.
..... Business after March 14 [2020] was dismal, the couple's daughter Lesilie told him.
.... They were only doing a few dinners a night and only opened a few days per week, and the business could not get paycheck protection, Juan Zuniga said.
..... Their monthly rent is $5,000.
..... The family said the business struggled until it received a $20,000 in December 2020. that money did help some, Leslie Zuniga said. That grant was followed up with an Urban Enterprise Zone grant that allowed them to paint the exterior and put up a new sign.
..... "For a long time we only had a striker out front. People didn't know we were here," Leslie Zuniga said, adding with the restaurant is open at full capacity and more and with more people vaccinated, life is rapidly returned to normal.
..... Murphy left the Zunigas, crossed Main avenue and spoke with a few more businesses owners.
..... He met florist Lissse Cielo Floral Designs, would have gone out of business.
..... "There was nothing going on," she said. "No weddings, no nothing."
.... Even though Cielo had been in business for 14 years, the pandemic would have killed the business if it wasn't for the extra funds, she said.
..... "It kept my doors open and me on top of my bills,: she said.
..... She also helped her neighbor, Oscar Chen of Yankee Kuts, to remain in business. Chen had brought the barber shop about a year before the pandemic hit and he was forced to shut down.
... Cielo helped him file for state grants.
.... The $20,000 he received was the lifeline he needed, she said.
.... "He was getting ready to leave," she said.
..... That's exactly what the new grants are supposed to do, Mayor Hector Lora said.
..... NJ Economic Development Authority Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan said that's the point of the small business relief package.
..... "The $135 million in additions COVID-19 relief funding enacted today [07/21/2021] will be a lifeline to small businesses as they reopen and return to full capacity, Sullivan said.

Who will get the money?

* Microbusineses will get $55 million.
* Bars and restaurants will get $15 million.
* Child Care facilities will get $10 million
* For-profit arts and culture organizations will get $10 million.
* Eligible small businesses and nonprofit organization with get $45 million.
..... In all, Murphy said working with the state Legislature, the state has provided almost $750 million in small business grants to New jersey family businesses.
..... In the Senate, the bill was sponsored by senators Dawn Marie Addiego and Linda Greenstein. In the Assembly, the bill was sponsored by Assembly members Gordon Johnson, Vince Mazzeo and Andrew Zwicker.

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