§ 15-03 General Eligibility Requirements.
RCNY § 15-03
a. Eligible Recipients. To be eligible for a Grant, an Applicant must satisfy the following criteria: 1. Applicant must operate a Business; 2. Applicant must not be in violation of any applicable federal, state, or local law, rule or regulation; 3. Food businesses subject to inspection by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene must have an A or B letter grade; 4. Applicant must be a small business; 5. Applicant must have been operating in the City for a minimum of three (3) years prior to the date of the application; 6. Applicant must not operate a Franchise, except that Franchises that the SBA has determined to be small businesses may be eligible; 7. Applicant must rent its current location of operation from an entity or individual that is not affiliated with the Applicant, as such affiliation is defined in the City's Vendor's Guide to VENDEX (https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/mocs/downloads/pdf/VendorsGuideToVendex-2012_07_31.pdf); 8. Applicant must not owe any federal, state or city taxes and must not be delinquent in payments owed to resolve judgments or liens; 9. All required licenses or permits relating to the Applicant's commercial business must be current; 10. Applicant must document that within the ten (10) years prior to its Application to the Program, it has experienced at least a five percent (5%) increase in costs directly related to operating in rented commercial space. Documentation may include, but need not be limited to: lease(s), utility bills, property tax bills or cancelled checks, which reflect increased rental costs, an increased burden relating to payment of property taxes or increased utility costs at its current location; and 11. Applicant must complete an Application. Application will be available online at www.nyc.gov/sbs and by directly contacting DSBS. b. Business Improvement Projects. Grants may only be used to implement recommendations from the Business Needs Assessment at the location that is the subject of the Grant. Eligible business improvement projects may include: 1. Operational improvements to Applicant's business; 2. Performing outreach and interviewing prospective employees for Applicant's business; 3. Training Applicant's employees; 4. Technological updates to Applicant's business; 5. Physical enhancements of Applicant's business location; or 6. Financial management changes to Applicant's business. (Added City Record 6/21/2018, eff. 7/21/2018)
