SBA Offering Economic Disaster Loans

CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK SBA OFFERS ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOANS

BY BENJAMIN FANG

Small businesses and private nonprofit organizations that have been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic can now apply for economic injury disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

On March 27, Man-Li Lin, an economic development specialist with SBA, hosted a webinar with the Queens Chamber and Ying Zhou, director of the Queens College Tech Incubator, about the loan application process. Hundreds of small business owners tuned in to watch.

Lin explained that the economic injury disaster loan is up to $2 million, with no payments for 12 months. Small businesses and private nonprofits of any size are eligible.

Businesses that are not eligible include those in the gambling industry, pawn shops, religious organizations, and investment or lending companies.

The loans can be used to help pay fixed debts, such as insurance and rent, payroll, accounts payable and other bills affected by the disaster.

“The money is not for you to pay back your lost sales,” Lin said. “This money is to keep you going forward.”

Small businesses with credit available elsewhere are also ineligible. Those without credit options will have a 3.75 percent interest rate. The loans for private nonprofits will have a 2.75 percent interest rate. They will have up to 30 years to repay.

“We encourage everyone to apply,” Lin said. “SBA will make the final decision.”

There is no cost to apply. Businesses that are offered the loan also don’t have to accept it. Lin added that the amount should reflect six months of operating expenses.

“We hope up to six months later, your situation will be better,” she said.

Applicants can have an existing SBA disaster loan and still qualify. Lin advised that if applicants have other loans, such as from city agencies, they should disclose it in their application.

Loans under $25,000 will not require collateral, but those more than that amount will require collateral, including real estate when available.

SBA will look at three specific criteria for the application: credit history, repayment ability and eligibility. Businesses will be asked to submit documents to support their application, such as personal financial statements, up to two years of tax returns, monthly sales figures and a schedule of liabilities.

To apply, Lin said applicants should download the form online, fill in the information and upload the forms or send them by mail. Applications with incomplete or missing information will be set aside, and SBA will inform the applicant of what they are missing.

“Don’t rush it,” she said. “Get all the information and the forms you need.”

Once the application is submitted, SBA will verify the information, check the applicants’ credit and determine a loan amount. Decisions will be made in four weeks.

Applicants who receive a loan will have to sign and submit loan documents, followed by the initial disbursement within five days.

If a business or nonprofit needs more funds, they can submit documents to apply for an increase, Lin said. Conversely, if they don’t need as much, they can request a reduction.

Those who are denied a loan can provide more information and a written reconsideration request within six months.

Lin added that businesses can ask SBA to hold onto the loan for six months.

“If you still need it,” she said, “we can reactivate it.” LOCAL COMPANIES DONATE MASKS

BY SARA KREVOY

Last week, AZ Painting & Home Improvement teamed up with the Sherwin Williams Paint Store on Austin Street to make a donation of 170 vital N-95 respirators to Long Island Jewish Forest Hills Hospital.

Emerging as the eye of the storm for the nation’s COVID-19 outbreak, New York City is currently facing a critical shortage of protective gear for hospital staff working with infected patients. The N-95 masks are in particularly high demand, as they filter out all but five percent of airborne particles, according to the CDC.

Realizing the severity of this situation, AZ Painting head Indrit Gjata and Sherwin Williams location manager Philippe Chahinian made a point to get the coveted respirators into the hands of local medical personnel.

“They’re on the front lines,” said Chahinian. “All of us want masks, but who really needs them? The people who are coming into contact with this every day. We got our shipment and we wanted to do the right thing.”

Both companies have regular access to N-95 respirators, as they are commonly used for woodworking and sanding painted surfaces.

Gjata says he has donated nearly

Philippe Chahinian with a pallet of masks donated to hospitals.

300 masks during the city’s escalating coronavirus crisis, including those he delivered to elderly customers so they could be protected while running essential errands like grocery shopping.

“Even though I live in Glendale, most of my business is in Forest Hills, Kew Gardens and Rego Park,” he said. “So I wanted to give back to the community.”

Sherwin Williams has been doing its part in the neighborhood as well, sending a 120-mask supply to the 112th Precinct, in addition to accommodating local doctors and nurses who stop by requesting respirators.

The store also set aside 795 masks on Friday specifically for Elmhurst Hospital, which lost 13 patents to the virus in one day and is in desperate need of supplies.

“We’re more than just a paint store,” explained Chahinian. “We want to do right by the community and let them know we are here for them.

“The donations only make a little bit of a dent,” he continued, “but if everyone did a little bit it would be tremendous.”