Announcements

RESOURCES AND LINKS
Here is a current list of resources for the business community.

City of Long BEach latest COVID19 info

City of Long Beach Business Resource page

Nassau County Resources

NYS Resources

$$$ ASSITANCE

US Chambers of Commerce Small Business Loans

Guide to Financial Aid (the Cares Act)

TD BANK offers Line of Credit

SMALL BUSINESS PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
    Fact Sheet
    Application Form

GRANTS for NonProfits
    application instructions

SBA: Small businesses that are struggling financially as a result of the COVID-19 crisis may be able to access low-interest loans through the Small Business Administration's Disaster Loans Program. https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

SBA Power Point How to Apply for Assistance

SBA.gov Loans ​https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/

New York Department of Financial Services, with FAQ's and information regarding Business Interruption Coverage https://dfs.ny.gov/consumers/coronavirus/business_interruption_insurance_faqs  

Coronavirus-related paid leave for workers and tax credits for small and midsize businesses

NY Attorney General COVID-19 Application For Suspension of Debt Collection Activity: https://ag.ny.gov/covid-19-debt-suspension-application

Submission form from ESD for COVID-19-Related Business Questions: https://esd.ny.gov/covid-19-help  

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was created as part of the recently enacted $2.2 trillion federal economic relief legislation to help certain unemployed persons impacted by COVID-19. This program offers temporary unemployment assistance to those who are unemployed, partially employed or unable to work because of COVID-19 and are not currently eligible for regular unemployment benefits.These benefits may last for a period of up to 39 weeks.

To view a list of scenarios under which an individual may or may not be eligible for PUA, click here 

It's important to note that if you have the ability to telework with pay or are receiving paid sick leave or other paid leave benefits, you will not be eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
 
Note that filing days for PUA are based on the first letter of your last name.  For more information, visit labor.ny.gov.
 
To apply, https://applications.labor.ny.gov/IndividualReg/  

UPDATES

COVID-19 Updates from City of Long Beach

Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) UPDATES from NY State

MOUNT SINAI SOUTH NASSAU covid-19 information

Sign up for the latest COVID-19 updates from New York State: https://now.ny.gov/page/s/coronavirus-updates

All businesses and counties are advised to reach out to their regional ESD office (https://esd.ny.gov/about-us/contact-us ) and DHSES (http://www.dhses.ny.gov/index.cfm ). They will be coordinating, assisting, and communicating once NYS has received its approval. Click here for guidance for businesses and corporations from ESD.

Guidance on Executive Order 202.6 https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026

 New York Declartion 1636 Fact Sheet https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/NY-16346-EIDL-Fact-Sheet.pdf

 

 

SUNDAY MARCH 22nd 8pm.
NON-ESSENTIAL BUSINESSES MUST KEEP
100% OF WORKFORCE AT HOME

What is an Essential Business:

Essential health care operations include:
o  Research and laboratory services
o  Hospitals
o  Walk-in-care health facilities
o  Veterinary and animal health services
o  Elder care
o  Medical wholesale and distribution
o  Home health care workers or aides
o  Doctor and dentist offices
o  Nursing homes or residential health care facilities or congregate care facilities
o  Medical supplies and equipment providers

Essential infrastructure includes:
o  Utilities including power generation, fuel supply and transmission
o  Public water and wastewater
o  Telecommunications and data centers
o  Airports/airlines
o  Transportation infrastructure such as bus, rail or for-hire vehicles, garages

Essential manufacturing includes:
o  Food processing, including all foods and beverages
o  Chemicals
o  Medical equipment/instruments
o  Pharmaceuticals
o  Safety and sanitary products
o  Telecommunications
o  Microelectronics/semi-conductor
o  Agriculture/farms
o  Paper products

Essential retail includes:
o  Grocery stores including all food and beverage stores
o  Pharmacies
o  Convenience stores
o  Farmer's markets
o  Gas stations
o  Restaurants/bars (but only for take-out/delivery)
o  Hardware and building material stores

Essential services include:
o  Trash and recycling collection, processing and disposal
o  Mail and shipping services
o  Laundromats/dry cleaning
o  Building cleaning and maintenance
o  Child care services
o  Auto repair
o  Warehouse/distribution and fulfillment
o  Funeral homes, crematoriums and cemeteries
o  Storage for essential businesses
o  Animal shelters or animal care or management

Financial services includes:
o  Banks
o  Insurance
o  Payroll
o  Accounting

News media

 Providers of basic necessities to disadvantaged populations includes: 
o  Homeless shelters and congregate care facilities
o  Food banks
o  Human services providers whose function includes the direct care of patients in state-licensed or funded voluntary programs; the care, protection, custody and oversight of individuals both in the community and in state-licensed residential facilities; those operating community shelters and other critical human services agencies providing direct care or support

Construction includes:
o  Skilled trades or plumbers
o  Other related construction firms and professionals for essential infrastructure or for emergency repair and safety purposes

Defense includes defense and national security-related operations supporting the U.S. Government or a contractor to the U.S. government.

Essential services necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation and essential operations of residences or other essential businesses includes:
o  Law enforcement
o  Fire prevention and response
o  Building code enforcement
o  Security
o  Emergency management and response
o  Building cleaners and janitors
o  General maintenance whether employed by the entity directly or a vendor
o  Automotive repair
o  Disinfection
o  Doormen

Vendors that provide essential services or products, including logistics and technology support, child care and services needed to ensure the continuing operation of government agencies and provide for the health, safety and welfare of the public including:
o  Logistics
o  Technology support
o  Child care programs and services
o  Government owned or leased buildings
o  Essential government services

If a business does not fall into one of these categories but believes it is essential, it can apply to the Empire State Development Corporation (ESDC) to be designated as an essential business. To apply, businesses must complete a form available on ESDC's website and e-mail it to covid19designations@esd.ny.gov .The form is available at:
https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/Request%20for%20Designation%20Form_0.pdf

Businesses that fall within one of the categories contained in the guidance need not apply for designation

Emergency Notarization Rules
Ordinarily, notaries may only notarize the signature of a person who appears before them in person. Executive Order 202.7 now permits notarizations required under New York law to be performed by videoconference through April 18, 2020, provided certain conditions are met, including:

·        The person seeking the notary's services, if not personally known to the notary, must present valid photo ID to the notary during the videoconference, not before or after.

·        The videoconference must allow for direct interaction, and cannot be accomplished merely by the transmission of a recording of the person signing the document to be notarized.

·        The person seeking the notary's services must affirmatively represent that he or she is located within the state of New York.

·        The person signing the document must fax or electronically send a legible copy of the signed document to the notary on the same day it was signed.

·        The notary may notarize the faxed or electronically transmitted document and send it back to the person who signed it.

·        The notary may repeat the notarization of the original signed document as of the date it was first signed if the notary receives the original signed document and a copy of the electronically notarized document within 30 days after it was signed.

NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATURE REACHES DEAL ON COVID-19 EMPLOYEE LEAVE

Yesterday, Governor Cuomo announced that a deal has been reached to provide all employees with job-protected leave in the event they are subject to a mandatory or precautionary order of isolation or quarantine, subject to certain exceptions. The terms of the deal are set out in a legislative program bill, and some of the most critical provisions are summarized below. 
        
The type of leave employees are entitled to depends in part on the size of the employer. An employer’s size is determined by the number of people in its employ as of January 1, 2020.
      
In the case of employers with ten or fewer employees and net income of $1 million or less as reported on the previous year’s tax return, employees are entitled to unpaid job-protected leave for the duration of any mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation related to COVID-19 that is ordered by the State of New York, the Department of Health, a local board of health or any government agency authorized to issue such an order (the “Agencies”). Employees are entitled to collect disability and paid family leave during this time.

In the case of employers with ten or fewer employees and net income greater than $1 million as reported on the previous year’s tax return, or employers with between and eleven and ninety-nine employees, employees are entitled to five paid sick days and unpaid job-protected leave thereafter for the duration of any period of mandatory or precautionary quarantine or isolation related to COVID-19 that is ordered by one of the Agencies. Employees are entitled to collect disability and paid family leave during the unpaid portion of the job-protected leave.          

In the case of employers with 100 or more employees, employers must provide fourteen days of paid sick leave to each employee.

To the extent employers are required to provide paid sick leave, such leave is in addition to and may not be deducted from an employee’s existing accrued paid time off.

No paid leave will be provided to any employee who becomes quarantined or isolated as a result of having traveled to a country for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) has issued a level 2 or level 3 health notice, so long as such travel was not required by the employer and the employee had notice of the CDC health notice. In these circumstances, an employee may use accrued sick time or, if such time has been exhausted, take unpaid leave.

Paid leave also need not be provided to employees who are asymptomatic or have not yet been diagnosed with a medical condition and are physically able to work while quarantined or in isolation, whether through remote access or otherwise.

Additionally, paid leave is not required where an employer closes due to a reason related to COVID-19 or because of a mandatory order of closure by an authorized government agency. In such situations, employees may be entitled to unemployment benefits without being subject to a waiting period.