Hurricanes Irene & Lee

Damage_Assessment_Form.pdf

ADDITIONAL FORMS:SBA Disaster Assistance Link:  http://www.sba.gov/taxonomy/term/99

Eligibility for Disaster Unemployment Assistance:
Disaster Unemployment Assistance.pdf

FEMA

DISASTER RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

For immediate release – Aug. 31. 2011

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced that federal aid has been made available to the State of New York to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the area affected by Hurricane Irene beginning on August 26, 2011, and continuing. The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in Ulster County.

Assistance can include low-cost loans to cover uninsured or underinsured property losses and other programs to help business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

If you have a business that suffered damages from Hurricane Irene, here are some steps to follow immediately:

• Contact your insurance agent or broker immediately. Make sure you get the proper forms to file a claim.
• Document: Take photos of all the damage before you do any sort of clean-up or renovations and take notes of dates, times, etc. Make a list of the damage.
• If you hire a contractor to do the work, get a few quotes and keep these for references.
• Keep track of ALL expenses with receipts and notes of explanations. These will come in handy when you need to make proof these expenses.
• You need to register with FEMA for help and accurate information. http://www.fema.gov/assistance/index.shtm

Whether you own your own business, or own a small agricultural concern or are part of a cooperative located in a declared disaster area, and are the victim of this disaster, you may be eligible for financial assistance from the U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Application filing deadlines are Oct. 31, 2011 for physical damage, and May 31, 2012 for economic injury. http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Factsheet%20NY%2012776.pdf

To get help for your business and get you started with the processes of these relief programs (FEMA, SBA), you can contact the Mid-Hudson Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at 845-339-0025 and/or Ulster Biz Help at (855) 249-4357.

All support services provided by government agencies during disasters are free – beware of scams! Don’t fall prey to empty promises by individuals who make false claims and require you to give them money or confidential information about your bank account, credit card number, etc.

New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC)

New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) approved a loan program yesterday in response to financing needs as a result of damage from Hurricane Irene.  This program is aimed towards providing 'quick liquidity' (i.e. cash).  The following bullet points summarize the program:

• NYBDC will provide credit score loans of up to $25,000 with disbursement within 3 days of completed application.
• The business must have been in business for 2 years at a minimum.
• Only a general collateral requirement will be required, so individual assets will not be tied up.
• A rate of 9.5% will be charged, with 0% for 60 days and interest only for 4 months.
• The loans will be amortized over 3 years.
• There will be NO prepayment penalty, so this is designed as a quick bridge loan until other (SBA, etc.) disaster loans become available. The SBA disaster loans will be issued for larger amounts at 6% for longer terms, so early payback of NYBDC will not be penalized.
• NYBDC will be using several of SBA’s standard forms to lessen the paperwork duplication, since applicants will usually be making other/larger SBA applications.
• The program will be available in all counties within the SBA disaster declaration regions.

About NYBDC (http://www.nybdc.com/index.html)

New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) is a complement to conventional banking, working in partnership with banks to provide term loans, many of which do not meet the requirements for traditional financing. Our goal is to be more creative in our underwriting. In many cases, we include multiple participations, SBA guarantees, flexible amortization and long-term payouts. 

For more information please contact Jim King at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Mid-Hudson SBDC at 339-0025.

SBA Fact Sheet Disaster Loans

Note:  Ulster County has also been given a disaster declaration for “Lee” in addition to “Irene”