(Photo: 110th Precinct)

New York City Councilmember Daniel Dromm is hosting AAFE and Renaissance Economic Development Corporation (REDC) in his Queens District Office, where emergency loans are being offered to businesses impacted by the recent water main break in Elmhurst/Jackson Heights. The office hours began Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2018. Renaissance is an AAFE affiliate.

The water main burst on Friday, Jan. 12 at the intersection of 74th Street and Broadway, flooding homes and businesses. Several small shops and restaurants were flooded, and many other local businesses were impacted by street closures and interruptions in water service.

AAFE and Renaissance announced a new emergency loan program to help the small businesses in the area. The Elmhurst/Jackson Heights Emergency Loan Program will be made available for emergency purposes to all small businesses in the boundary area.

Councilmember Dromm said, “These emergency loans are a lifeline to local businesses that were impacted by the recent water main break. Many business owners in my district are recent immigrants struggling to make ends meet.  Store closure, flood damage, and loss of vehicular and foot traffic has resulted in thousands of dollars in repair costs and lost revenue for some businesses.  This tremendous financial burden can be quite devastating.  These low-interest loans will help owners overcome these challenges and get their businesses back into operation.  I am pleased to work alongside AAFE to support Jackson Heights and Elmhurst entrepreneurs in their time of need.”

“For a small business,” said AAFE Interim Executive Director Doris Koo, “a flood can mean losing everything. With this new loan program we can give these businesses an immediate helping hand and get them get back on their feet. This program is important for those businesses that were directly damaged by the flood and also businesses in the immediate area that are adversely impacted. In a difficult time like this, many immigrant and minority-owned small business have a hard time finding access to affordable capital and this program offers very low interest rates and provides support to business owners in their native language.”

Loans are available up to $30,000. Please visit REDC’s website for more details.