New York’s small-business COVID-19 recovery grant program expands eligibility

ALBANY, N.Y. — More small businesses can now apply for funding in New York’s $800 million COVID-19 small-business recovery grant program.

Starting Wednesday, businesses with revenues of up to $2.5 million can apply for grants, up from the previous threshold of $500,000, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday.

Additionally, the limitation for businesses that received federal Paycheck Protection Program loans has been increased from $100,000 to $250,000.   

“Supporting the small businesses across our state that got hit hard by the pandemic is a top priority for my administration,” Hochul said. “We simply cannot have a full economic recovery if the small-business community continues struggling to survive. With the pandemic small-business recovery grant program opening up to a greater pool of businesses, I strongly urge all the owners who qualify to submit their application so they can access this funding.”

About the program

Launched in June, the program initially focused on small and micro-businesses across New York State, which were “largely left out” of federal business-recovery initiatives, per Hochul’s office. Empire State Development (ESD) and its partners have worked to ensure that these businesses have the technical assistance they need to be “first in line” for this program. The assistance includes guidance during the application process and support to overcome language barriers.

To date, the state has awarded more than $48 million to over 2,380 small and micro-businesses in all 10 regions of the state. The modifications announced Wednesday ensure additional small businesses can “more quickly” access funding through the program.  

ESD and Lendistry — the minority-led Community Development Financial Institution that was selected to administer the program — will continue to accept and review applications.

All current applicants — those who have not finished their applications, have not uploaded documents or have incomplete documentation — are encouraged to finalize their applications as soon as possible. Previously ineligible small businesses may start applying today, and those applications will start being processed on Sept. 8.

More information, including program guidelines and the grant application, can be found here.