Thanks to Lucy Redzeposki, Director of Rockland County Economic Development and Tourism
for coordinating the SBA Lenders Roundtable
Special thanks to Bailey for driving Robin and me up there and back
HNA Palisades Premier Conference Center
Ed Day, Rockland County Executive
L-R: Lucy, Beth, John
Group Photo by Bailey
on George Washington Bridge
Fort Lee on the right and Manhattan on the left
on Westside Highway back to the office
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NEW YORK DISTRICT OFFICE
Release
Date: July 23,
2018
Contact: bailey.wolff@sba.gov
Rockland County Executive Ed Day hosts U.S. Small
Business Administration (SBA) and small business lenders at Economic Roundtable
New York
– Beth Goldberg, Director of the New York District Office
of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), said that her agency has
guaranteed $28.8 million in small business loans to Rockland County businesses
through the first three quarters of FY 2018.
“We’ve
seen a nearly-60 percent increase in dollar volume and an 85 percent increase
in the number of SBA guaranteed loans to Rockland County small businesses over
the same period last year,” Goldberg said.
In October, 2015, SBA signed a Strategic Agreement
Memorandum (SAM) with Rockland County Executive Ed Day, focused on bolstering
job creation, access to entrepreneurship training, educating lenders on the SBA
loan guarantee and overall stimulation of the economy. Both Goldberg and County
Executive Day said that the plan has been working.
“In the
two years prior to signing this agreement, SBA guaranteed 21 loans worth $20
million in Rockland County,” Goldberg said. “In the nearly three years since
signing the agreement, that number has jumped to nearly 300 loans worth about
$100 million.”
County
Executive Day and his Director of Economic Growth and Tourism, Lucy Redzeposki,
have worked particularly hard on spreading the word of the SBA loan guarantee
to lenders throughout Rockland County, as well as focusing on bringing more
tourists from all over the world to visit area hotels, restaurants and
destinations.
“I
firmly believe that it is not the work of government to create jobs. Rather, it
is the job of government to create an atmosphere where businesses thrive and
jobs are created,” said County Executive Day. “With the help of the SBA we are
doing just that all while respecting the lives and communities of our
residents.”
Goldberg
said that 1,600 jobs had either been created or retained as the result of SBA
loan guarantees throughout Rockland County since signing the memorandum with
County Executive Day.
“SBA’s
partnership with Rockland County highlights onramps to capital access and
education that have existed for decades but that entrepreneurs may not have
known about before. The economic impact has been great – new jobs, more loan
dollars, new businesses and revitalization,” Goldberg said.
In
addition to SBA and the County Executive’s Office, several small business
lenders were on hand to meet one-on-one with SBA leadership and County
Executive Day. Community Capital New York, Wells Fargo Bank, Trustco, M&T
Bank, Peoples United Bank, Greater Hudson Bank and Capital One, all SBA
lenders, were represented at the table.
“The SBA
guarantee was designed for those small businesses that don’t fit a bank’s
typical underwriting criteria. Maybe the business lacks collateral, or hasn’t
been in business long enough to make the lender feel confident extending
credit. In these cases, SBA can step in with the loan guarantee and possibly
turn a ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes’,” Goldberg said.
Tom
Morley, Director of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at
Rockland Community College, and Robert Janesak, Chairman of the Rockland County SCORE chapter, also participated
in the roundtable. Both SCORE and the Small Business Development Center provide
free, one-on-one or group business advising services, as well as market
research and analysis, business plan writing, loan package preparation or help
navigating any other obstacle an entrepreneur may encounter along his/her
journey to starting or growing a business.
Morley
said that his business center and the network of SCORE mentors offer “experience”
and bring “reality” to the process small business owners go through when
starting or growing their companies.
Earlier
this year, SBA and Rockland County resigned their agreement, extending their
partnership for another two years and allowing them to strengthen their efforts
in delivering economic development tools to the nearly 34,000 small businesses
already operating in Rockland County, as well as to enhance outreach to those
looking to start a business.
