§ 15-04 Selection Criteria.
RCNY § 15-04
a. Eligibility. Basic eligibility will be determined based on an Applicant's ability to meet the requirements set forth in subdivision a of 66 RCNY § 15-03. Ineligible Applicants will be eliminated from further consideration. b. Preliminary Ranking. DSBS will rank all eligible Applicants using the following numerical rating scale: 1. Business Criteria.
(a)Number of years in operation (1 - 5 points, with 1 point for 3 - 5 years and 5 points for 12 years or longer); (b) Time remaining on current lease (0 - 5 points, with zero points for less than 1 year and 5 points for more than 10 years); (c) Amount of real estate cost increase (1 - 5 points, with 1 point for 5 - 10% and 5 points for 40% or more); (d) Number of employees (0 - 5 points, with zero points for 0 - 1 employees and five points for twenty or more employees); (e) Nomination for DSBS' Community Cornerstone Program (1 point for nominated businesses); (f) National retailers/chain store(s) within a five block radius of Applicant's business location offering the same goods or services (0 - 5 points with zero points for no nearby chain competitor and 5 points for 5 or more chain competitors); and (g) Neighborhood/community engagement (0 or 1 point for engagement that may include, but not be limited to, sponsoring local community projects, hosting community events, featuring local artists, musicians or performers, and/or sourcing/featuring local products or services).
2.Neighborhood Criteria. DSBS will consult independent and current data sources to assign a score to Applicant for each of the following neighborhood criteria: (a) The percentage of small businesses in the neighborhood of the Applicant's Business (1 - 3 points, with 1 point for neighborhoods where the percentage of small businesses is greater than 30% of all local businesses and 3 points for neighborhoods where the percentage of small businesses is less than 20% of all local businesses). "Small business" and "neighborhood" will have the same meanings as those terms have when used in the Association for Neighborhood Housing and Development's Equitable Economic Development Indicators; (b) The number of small business loans in the neighborhood of the Applicant's Business (1 - 3 points, with 1 point for neighborhoods determined to have a high number of small business loans (approximately 3,000 or more) and 3 points for neighborhoods determined to have a low number of small business loans (approximately 1,200 or fewer)). "Small business" and "neighborhood" will have the same meanings as those terms have when used in the Association for Neighborhood Housing and Development's Equitable Economic Development Indicators; (c) The household median income in the neighborhood of the Applicant's Business (1 - 3 points, with 1 point for neighborhoods determined to have a neighborhood household median income of approximately $60,000 per year or higher and 3 points for neighborhoods determined to have a neighborhood household median income of approximately $42,000 per year or lower). "Neighborhood" has the definition set forth in the American Community Survey; (d) The percentage of change in the presence of national retailers/chains in the neighborhood of the Applicant's Business (1 - 3 points, with 1 point for neighborhoods with an increase of 20% or less in the number of national retailers/chains since 2009 and 3 points for neighborhoods with an increase of 35% or more change in the number of national retailers/chains since 2009). "Neighborhood" will have the same meaning as the term has when used in the Center for an Urban Future's annual reports on the prevalence of chain restaurants; (e) Neighborhood affordability (1 - 3 points, with 1 point for businesses in neighborhoods classified as high income and 3 points for neighborhoods classified as both low income and gentrifying, as defined in the Furman Center State of New York City's Housing and Neighborhoods. "Neighborhood" will have the same meaning as the term has when used in the Gentrification Analysis of the Furman Center's periodic reports on New York City's housing and neighborhoods.
3.Based on the numerical scores assigned to each Applicant, DSBS will identify the fifty Applicants with the highest scores. A tie between Applicants with the same scores will be broken by analyzing points granted for individual business criteria first, followed by neighborhood criteria. These fifty Applicants will be given an opportunity to receive an initial Business Needs Assessment. In the event that one or more of these fifty Applicants do not complete the initial Business Needs Assessment, DSBS may select replacements from the remaining ranked businesses, in order in which such businesses are ranked.
4.Any Applicant that is not identified as being among the fifty Applicants with the highest scores will be offered other DSBS services to address its needs. c. Initial Business Needs Assessment.
1.The initial Business Needs Assessment will require each Applicant to attend in-person meeting(s) with an expert advisor assigned by DSBS. The meeting(s) may take place at Applicant's business and/or a NYC Business Solutions Center and will span a total of up to four (4) hours.
(b)Businesses that fail to participate fully in the initial Business Needs Assessment or to timely provide requested documentation will be deemed ineligible for further consideration for the Program, but will be referred for other appropriate DSBS services.
