By Rachel Schwartz

New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn spoke at the May 21^st, 2009, Flatiron/23^rd Street Partnership Spring Speaker Series event “Open For Business: A plan for helping small businesses thrive.”    

The event held at TD Bank, 260 Park Avenue South, was well attended and had a responsive audience for the Speaker, who discussed what the City and State are doing to help small businesses during this difficult time. Quinn said her plan is for the City itself to be more open to proposals from small businesses in order to help them thrive here.  She is also currently going through State budget negotiations in order to get monies to bring back a lot of the small businesses that left the city due to budget issues and make it easier for them going forward.

Additionally Quinn said that the City must identify alternative financial resources to Wall Street, upon which we had become way too reliant for funding.  Small businesses have been left out of that process and the Speaker said it has to change.  Also, the City needs to help small businesses grow by driving business their way.  Speaker Quinn wants to initiate a pilot program in which City agencies will review proposed regulations that may adversely affect small businesses; this is intended to create a process that ensures new regulations won’t have a burdensome effect on that class of trade.

Another example of what the Speaker proposes is to build up market sectors like Biotechnology and Nursing (specifically training).  This is especially crucial because many companies in those areas have left New York City because they got more funding elsewhere.  Quinn suggested that the financial resources for helping bring back these businesses could be allocated from the Federal Stimulus money New York State is receiving.

Several audience questions for the Speaker focused on offering credits to Film and Television productions that shoot and edit in New York City; those funds would help augment the monies needed to hire and support small businesses here in town.

It was a very informative and lively event thanks to Speaker Christine Quinn, the Flatiron/23^rd Street Partnership and TD Bank.  If you are interested in learning about other free events sponsored by the Flatiron/23^rd Street BID, please check our emails regularly or visit http://www.flatironbid.org/