Other Resources

Who can help me better understand all these legal issues?

You can get legal referrals by contacting the Legal Referral Service of the New York City and County Bar Associations at (212) 626-7373 (www.ilawyer.com - click on "New York City"), or the New York State Bar Association help line at (877) 435-7321 or its lawyer referral service at (518) 487-5709 (www.nysba.org).

You may also visit one of the small business relief centers in Manhattan at the following locations:

110 Maiden Lane (at 80 Pine St.), Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm;
633 Third Avenue (at East 41st), 32nd Floor, Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm;
21 South End Ave., Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm;
62 Mott St., Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm; and
141 Worth St. (at Centre St.), Monday through Friday, 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 3pm.

Where can I get general business information and assistance?

In addition to visiting the small business relief centers listed above, you can contact the following agencies:

New York City Economic Development Corporation (EDC) & New York City Partnership (NYCP) Hotline at (718) 403-2220, (866) 227-0458 or visit them online at www.newyorkbiz.com (for EDC) or www.nycp.org (for NYCP).

Empire State Development (ESD) at (800) I-Love-NY or visit them online at www.empire.state.ny.us.

Business services and building re-occupancy information is available on the official New York City website at www.nyc.gov/html/em/business.html.

The Office of the New York State Attorney General has a website with helpful information for businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations at www.wtcrelief.info.

Manhattan Chamber of Commerce has set up a small business recovery fund to provide assistance to small business members who were directly affected by the WTC disaster. Contact Nancy Ploeger, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, 1555 Third Avenue, Manhattan, (212) 410-1071, www.manhattancc.org.

New York City Investment Fund: www.nycif.org/emergencyassistance.htm. This website contains helpful business information, including tax information, insurance contacts and financial assistance.

Business development resources may be found on these websites: Empire State Development Corporation at www.empire.state.ny.us and New York States' e-biznys at www.nysegov.com/e-biznys.cfm.

General information for downtown businesses is available at www.downtownny.com/business.htm.

Where can I get financial assistance for my business?

See the Loans section of this handbook for information about Small Business Administration Disaster Loans (www.sba.gov/disaster or (800) 659-2955) and WTC Disaster Recovery Loans (www.nycif.org). You may also contact one of the participating banks below:

Banco Popular (212) 445-1991;
Bank of New York (800) 621-3443;
Chase Bank (888) 842-8786;
Citibank, N.A. (800) 328-CITI (2484);
Community Capital Bank (718) 802-1212;
Fleet (212) 703-1504; or
HSBC Bank USA (800) 975-HSBC (4722).

The Brooklyn Economic Development Corporation has established two short-term loan programs to assist small businesses impacted by the disaster. For more information see www.bedc.org/redac.htm, call (718) 522-4600 or email to info@bedc.org.

The Renaissance Economic Development Corporation has established a working capital loan program to assist small businesses impacted by the disaster. They establish a walk-in center at 1 Pike Street, New York, NY 10002. No appointments are necessary for the Emergency Loan Fund. For more information see www.renaissance-ny.org, call (212) 964-6022 or email to Info@renaissance-ny.org.

ACCION New York has established the "New York's American Dream Fund" to p rovide loans of up to $15,000 at 5% interest to businesses who (i) do not meet SBA requirements; (ii) are located south of 14th Street; or (iii) can demonstrate that at least 50% of the business' clients (or contracts) were located in the disaster area. For more information see www.accionnewyork.org, call (917) 620-0353/86, or (917) 543-6873, or email info@accion-ny.org. Loan officers are located at 110 Maiden Lane (at 80 Pine St.).

Structured Employment Economic Development Corporation (Seedco) provides financial and technical assistance to community-based organizations, including short-term loans and financing for non-profits and small businesses located below Canal Street. For more information see www.seedco.org, or call Catherine Gill at (212) 204-1301, Peter Oliver at (212) 204-1345, Betty Rauch at (212) 473-0255 x. 322, or Ned Steele (212) 243-8383.

For information about Regional Economic Development Assistance Corporations (REDAC) Disaster Relief Business Loans, visit www.nycif.org/REDAC.htm or call (718) 522-4600 x18 or x19.

See the Tax section in this handbook for information about revised quarterly tax filing deadlines.

Where can I get help with accounting issues?

The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) has a help desk where a certified public accountant will answer questions regarding insurance, tax returns, pensions and the financial situation of small businesses. You can visit NYSSCPA's help desk at 100 Maiden Lane in Manhattan, which is open from Monday through Friday (9:00am to 5:00pm) and Saturday (9:00am to 3:00pm), or you can call their hotline at (800) NYS-SCPA.

Whom can I contact to locate or offer temporary or permanent office space?

Empire State Development's (ESD) website hosts the NY Site Finder listing 90% of office space currently available in the NYC metro area. The Small Business Recovery Center in Yonkers provides temporary, free office space to small businesses displaced or otherwise directly impacted by the attack, to enable them to get back on their feet and resume operations in New York City. For more information visit ESD online at www.empire.state.ny.us or call (518) 292-5200, Monday through Friday, 9am - 5pm.

Call the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) at (212) 621-9502, (212) 621-9517 or (212) 621-9527, or email spacebank@rebny.com. (Please include 24 hour contact information, total square footage to lease or offer, and any special space needs or restrictions.)

For pre-wired office space ($10-$24 per square foot) visit the Digital NYC - Wired To The WorldSM at www.newyorkbiz.com/digitalnyc or email info@newyorkbiz.com.

Where can I or my former employees get employment assistance?

Twin Towers Job Link
www.nyc.gov/twintowersjobs
To offer jobs: (800) 835-7507
Job seekers: (718) 557-1332

Emergency Employment Clearinghouse
www.cwejobbank.org
(Enter "CWE" as user name & password to fill out form)
To offer jobs: (212) 558-2250
Job seekers: (212) 558-2261

The New York State Department of Labor provides information on Reemployment Assistance, Unemployment Insurance and Disaster Unemployment Insurance and the National Emergency Grant Layoff Aversion Program. For more information call the NYS Dept of Labor at (800) 447-3992.

Whom can I contact to obtain or donate goods and services?

Call the EDC & NYCP hotline at (718) 403-2220 to request or donate computers, telecommunications equipment, furniture, office supplies, business/strategic consulting services, information technology, etc.

Call the NYS Power Authority at (800) 622-NYPA for information on low-cost power.

Ziff Davis has set up a website for information technology needs at www.ziffdavis.com/itrelief.

We are a nonprofit organization. Where can we get more information and assistance?

In addition to the resources provided in the Nonprofit Organizations section of this handbook, consult the following:

Call the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York at (212) 502-4191, visit them online at www.npccny.org or email dmeyers@npccny.org.

For technology assistance call the NpowerNY (212) 677-9622 or visit them online at www.npowerny.org.

For short-term loans and financing for nonprofit organizations visit Seedco online at www.seedco.org.

See the Loans section of this handbook for information about the WTC Disaster Recovery Loan Program and REDAC Disaster Relief Business Loans which are also available for nonprofit organizations.