NEW YORK — Help for small businesses in New York State is on the way.
Speaking in New York City Friday, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the state is launching 'NY Forward,' a $100 million loan fund to provide flexible and affordable loans to help small businesses, focusing on those who did not receive federal COVID-19 funding assistance.
The loans will focus on businesses with 20 or fewer employees and less than $3 million in gross revenues, as well as those owned by women and minorities. More information on the program can be found at esd.ny.gov/nyforwardloans.
The governor also announced a new pilot program to bring on board 52 additional independent pharmacies that will have the capacity to perform 7,000 COVID-19 tests per week. "The message is simple," said Cuomo. "Get a test." With the addition of the new sites, the state now has 750 testing sites around the state.
On Thursday, 109 New Yorkers died from the virus. Eighty-two of them were in the hospital, 27 of those in nursing homes. Hospitalizations and new cases of the virus continue to decline.
In addition to over 3,000 employees, the state has now hired five outside contractors to work on the on-going backlog of thousands of unemployment claims. So far, $10 billion has been paid out to over two million out of work New Yorkers; but many continue to say they have yet to receive any money.
Cuomo also announced the state will make its contact tracing training curriculum available at no cost to all states to help speed up the process of creating those programs for other communities around the country.
The governor announced more than 90,000 votes have been cast so far to select the winning PSA in a contest encouraging New Yorkers to wear a mask. You have until May 26 to choose your favorite among the five finalists. Cast your vote here.