January 2013
Report to Members, By Philip Kirschner, President

Helping Businesses Rebuild after Sandy

A family-owned supermarket in South Amboy was forced to shut its doors when the power outage caused $100,000 worth of food to spoil. Another small business owner just couldn’t justify taking out a long-term loan when he was so close to retirement age. And a franchise owner in Ocean City already had a big loan he used to buy his franchise, and was doubtful he could take on more debt.

Across the state, businesses have been damaged by Superstorm Sandy. The Christie Administration estimates that 30,000 businesses or homes have been destroyed or damaged.

Immediately after the storm, NJBIA began reaching out to members to provide information on disaster assistance for their businesses. We provided timely, relevant information on where to get assistance. We created a quick questionnaire so businesses could let us know how Sandy had impacted them and what help they needed. NJBIA’s staff did a great job following up and contacting those who responded. They called each business owner personally to help them get lines of credit, find business recovery centers and get in touch with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

NJBIA is also working closely with the NJ Business Action Center to help businesses rebuild. The center is an important clearing house for several state and federal disaster assistance programs.

The federal Small Business Administration (SBA), for instance, provides low-interest loans for businesses of all sizes for both physical damage and economic damages. A business could get up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged buildings, equipment, inventory and fixtures. The agency also offers loans to small businesses and private, nonprofit organizations that have suffered economic injury, regardless of physical damage.

The NJ Economic Development Authority is providing loan guarantees of up to $500,000 for commercial lines of credit through its Main Street Disaster Relief Program. The program is designed to provide businesses with access to cash to improve their damaged properties while awaiting insurance proceeds.

Also, the self-employed and certain business owners may qualify for special Disaster Unemployment Assistance. Begin by applying for regular UI benefits and list Sandy as the reason for unemployment. If you are rejected for regular benefits, you may then qualify for disaster unemployment. The deadline to apply is February 4.

More detailed information on these and other assistance programs is available on our website. Visit www.njbia.org and click on the Hurricane Sandy page.

For some businesses, however, incurring more long-term debt is a daunting prospect. NJBIA has been pushing for a grant program for businesses, and in December, Governor Chris Christie announced that $2 billion of the president’s disaster aid request to Congress is to be set aside for grants to small businesses. At press time, Congress had not voted on disaster aid.

This has been an unprecedented storm. NJBIA is committed to helping all of its members get back on their feet. If any NJBIA member company is having difficulty getting information or a response from government agencies, contact us either through the website or at 800-499-4419.

New Jersey’s economy was growing and its business climate improving before Sandy hit, and we have every reason to believe that it will again. In the meantime, we are here to help you get through this.

Vincent Schweikert, Vice President & Publisher
973-882-5004. ext. 110
v.schweikert@njbmagazine.com

Anthony Birritteri, Editor-in-Chief
973-882-5004. ext. 104
a.birritteri@njbmagazine.com

George Saliba, Managing Editor
973-882-5004. ext. 106
g.saliba@njbmagazine.com

Lisa Fragati-Criscuolo, Advertising Manager
973-882-5004. ext. 108
l.criscuolo@njbmagazine.com

Gloria Owens, Account Executive
973-882-5004. ext. 109
g.owens@njbmagazine.com

Doug Prefach, Account Executive
973-882-5004. ext. 102
d.prefach@njbmagazine.com