Long Island Small Businesses Either Boom or Bust After Sandy

Joseph Byrne Wednesday, December 5, 2012

One of the problems which was brought on by Hurricane Sandy is that the business environment on Long Island has suffered a great deal. Many small businesses have had to undergoe closures, complete remodeling, or suffered to the point of succumbing to the pressures and closing their doors for good.

The Oct. 29 superstorm is estimated to rank second costliest to Katrina, with $63 billion in damage and economic loss across nearly half the nation. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requesting $33 billion in repair reimbursements, including $8 billion for LI, plus $9 billion more for preventative storm hardening—all while President Obama and Congress are facing a fiscal cliff.

One area where the money is sorely needed is within the business community of Long Island. For instance, The Nautical Mile has become a virtual ghost town. In an area where there is usually bustling streets, there is now desertion as surrounding residents and shopkeepers continue to dig out of the wreckage. It’s a scene that’s playing out all across Long Island’s waterfront commercial districts—but Sandy didn’t impact all businesses the same.

There are plenty of small - season oriented - businesses that, while they are still forced to rebuild, clean up, and get things back in order, are sure that they will be ready to open during the beginning of tourist season. Some other retailers have sprung back to life just in time for the holiday shopping season. Others, already struggling to recover from the recession, may be gone forever. Meanwhile the trades and hotels are reportedly working overtime—there’s much to rebuild and out-of-towners aplenty here to help.

Of course, in the middle of the holiday shopping season, there are still some work to be done. Instead of seeing a Black Friday spike in sales, storeowners in the badly battered City of Long Beach got a visit from New York State officials touring Park Avenue shops to offer low-interest business loans for Sandy survivors. The loans—up to $25,000—are through the recently created state Small Business Emergency Loan Fund, which come in addition to federal Small Business Administration lending being offered.

This all sounds good, but it does also mean another debt that they incur in order to get back to operations. It also means that several of these small businesses can not take upon this type of loan and had to foregoe.

Long Island businesses are not down and out. They will continue to bounce back, new businesses will take the place of those that have closed, and the economy will begin to build. Until then, it is a time when all Long Island businesses, and residents, need to come together to help.

joeb@longislandyellowpages.com

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