New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Monday will announce a new partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc. that will create the largest public-private loan fund for small businesses in the city’s history.

The $75 million NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund will offer businesses loans ranging from $2,000 to $250,000 at a fixed below-market interest rate of 4%, regardless of the loan size. The program comes as many small businesses that struggled to stay open during the pandemic are still fighting to bounce back.

“Small businesses throughout our city have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and helping them get back on their feet is critical to an equitable recovery,” Adams said in a statement.

More than 4,000 private businesses, including chain stores and retail banks, shuttered in New York from 2019 to 2021 during the height of the pandemic, the city comptroller’s office said. About 1,500 local businesses will be able to apply for the new loans, exempt from credit score minimums and application fees, according to the city.

Christine Noh, owner of the apparel store Nohble, which was founded in 1982 by her parents, said the past three years have been a tremendous challenge. Noh said she feels like she is constantly trying to recover from whiplash. Although she received a loan from a city program designed to keep businesses afloat during the pandemic, she told Bloomberg in an interview that she plans to apply for the new loan.

“New York City is a very challenging place to operate, and it only gets more expensive to operate, it never gets cheaper and more of this is needed, I would say I am somebody who is very well engaged and even then, I don’t necessarily know what products are being offered or what programs may exist,” Noh said.

To qualify for the loan, businesses must have less than $5 million in revenue. Borrowers can also use the loan to refinance higher-interest debt.

Goldman Sachs is contributing approximately $50 million to the loan program, while Mastercard is giving $500,000 for outreach and educating small business owners. The balance of the program’s funds will come from New York City. The partnership will also work with local groups including Community Reinvestment Fund and local Community Development Financial Institutions, which are dedicated to serving low-income people or businesses.

“Small businesses are the engines of our economy,” Maria Torres-Springer, deputy mayor for economic and workforce development, said in a statement. “This innovative public-private partnership will not just help over one thousand businesses, but will have lasting ripple effects in the lives of workers and in the health of our neighborhoods where these businesses operate.”

How does this help small businesses when landlords and real estate companies refuse to lower commercial rent allowing businesses to have storefronts? Or even rent office space at reasonable prices? Part of the reason they struggle in this city is the batshit insane rents they're being charged.

To me, the only logical way for them to lower rent is by letting their properties sit empty and generate no revenue when no one can or will pay their exorbitant rents.

But the fact that they can write off empty properties as losses on their taxes is what really gets me. That provision should be eliminated.

> Goldman is letting go of more than 3,000 employees.

> Goldman Sachs' asset and wealth management posted a 39% decline in net revenue to $13.4 billion in 2022, with its revenue from equity and debt investments sinking 93% and 63%, respectively, according to its earnings announced last week.

Pretty sure Goldman Sachs has their own problems right now

Well the write really depends on what is being written off. AFAIK you still have to pay property taxes on empty properties. But you don’t pay income taxes, since there is no income, and you can transfer loss for certain amount of yers. We can’t particularly charge taxes on income that doesn’t exist, but loss write down could probably be discussed, but will be a difficult implementation

Sounds like Goldman is just trying to drum up new business

A lot of those commercial properties have mortgages that require them to be rented at prices that are out of line with the current market.

So it’s really the landlord sucking it up and paying a mortgage on something that is not generating revenue and hoping the economy gets better.

If they are right, the economy will get better and someone will rent them. But if they are wrong, they will go bankrupt and the property will be taken over by the banks, who won’t be forced to ask the unrealistic rents anymore.

The problem is that both scenarios can take a long time to resolve.

Until then, the city could at least require those business properties to not be an eye sore showing disrepair, with trash accumulating on the side walk, etc.

LOL. Goldman Sachs does not want to give small businesses a lift. They want to make small businesses dependent on their loans rather than loans from competing vampires, and they want to extract as much debt service cost as possible from them.

Yeah it needs to be the opposite. A vacancy tax would help incentivize keeping small business rather than keeping stores empty in hopes a bank or a chain will pay ridiculous rent prices.

Just set up some provisions so it can be waived during a recession or if a certain area is struggling, etc.

This is the other problem, but shouldn’t that only be an issue for newer buildings?

Ding ding ding! This is a plot to drum up more business and enmesh NYC and our Mayor with their plans to our disadvantage. Anyone thinking JP Morgan or Goldman Sachs or any similar company is working in good faith with the city government was born yesterday.

It's not really a problem though, is it? They still made massive profits just less than they wanted to. I know boards demand growth growth growth at all costs whether it's possible or not. Cutting jobs was just a quick and easy way to drum up short term profit to please the masters. Maybe one day public companies in America will stop functioning like pyramid schemes, but I doubt it.

Or that. I can sympathize with property owners that are falling on legitimately hard times and can’t rent out.

But it is so blatantly obvious that many are gaming the system by writing off imaginary losses on the hopes of hooking a big money tenant. This kind of manipulation should not be tolerated

"Goldman Sachs launches small local PR initiative"

More vulture capitalism in the name of “saving small businesses”. People are going to get royally screwed.

If they were offering grants I'd say, that's so nice of them. Instead, F them.

Goldman itself will give me 4.3% for 12 months completely risk free. I like free money thanks...don't mind if I do!

Not to mention they need an excuse to keep their employees coming to the office instead of fleeing for wfh opportunities.

“Oh, won’t you think of the poor small businesses you’re killing by not coming to work???”

lol these two entities are spit roasting small businesses

"Hello small business, would you like some debt :)"