_JPEG.jpeg)
OUR FIGHT FOR ECONOMIC JUSTICE
BUILD LOCAL BUSINESSES
We’re Building Local Businesses to keep wealth in the Bronx. That means establishing small business hubs, capping commercial rent increases, providing startup grants for micro and home-based entrepreneurs, and prioritizing community-owned businesses for public contracts. Economic growth should benefit the people who live here, not push them out.
Launch a Bronx Local Market
The Bronx is home to more than 1.4 million residents, yet median household income remains under 50,000 dollars. Despite the spending power that exists here, a significant share of retail dollars flows to large chains and outside corporations rather than neighborhood entrepreneurs.
At the same time, many small vendors and startups cannot afford permanent storefront rent.
We will launch a Bronx Local Market initiative that provides affordable seasonal retail space, rotating pop-ups, and promotional support for Bronx-based entrepreneurs, keeping local dollars local and building visibility for neighborhood businesses.
Protect Street Vendors and Micro-Entrepreneurs
New York City has capped full-time street vending permits for decades, creating waiting lists that can stretch for years. Vendors often face fines that total thousands of dollars for minor infractions while trying to operate in a system that offers limited legal pathways.
Walk through any Bronx corridor and you will see vendors serving families every day, yet many are one ticket away from losing everything.
We will expand vendor permits, reduce excessive fines, and create clear pathways for street vendors and micro-entrepreneurs to transition into permanent business ownership.
Cap Commercial Rent Increases for New Businesses
New York City does not provide commercial rent stabilization for small businesses. Lease renewals can increase dramatically, and small businesses have little protection against steep hikes. At the same time, storefront vacancy remains visible across Bronx corridors, even as rents continue to rise.
You can see it on Fordham Road, Third Avenue, Jerome Avenue. Legacy shops close, gates stay down, and chains move in because they can absorb the higher rent.
We will cap commercial rent increases for new and small businesses in working-class neighborhoods so neighborhood storefronts are not priced out of the communities they helped build.
Prioritize Local, Women-Led, and Minority-Operated Businesses for Public Contracts
New York City and State award billions in public contracts each year. While the city has increased its focus on Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, MWBEs still receive a smaller share of total contract dollars than their population representation would suggest.
In a borough where the majority of residents are Black and Latino, public dollars should reflect who lives and works here.
We will prioritize Bronx-based, locally owned, women-led, and minority-operated businesses in public contracting so taxpayer dollars circulate inside the communities that generate them.
Eliminate Predatory Fines and Fee Structures for Small Businesses
Small businesses in working-class neighborhoods are frequently subject to layered inspections, administrative fees, and compliance penalties. For large corporations, these fines are absorbed. For a local storefront operating on thin margins, they can determine whether the doors stay open.
Business owners regularly cite stacked violations and bureaucratic hurdles as major barriers to survival.
We will reform inspection and fine structures so they protect public safety without imposing disproportionate financial burdens on small businesses.
Establish Subsidies for Small Business Owners & Entrepreneurs
In the Bronx, small businesses are not just businesses. They are the bodega, the barber, the nail spot, the bakery, and the legacy storefront that has been holding a block together for years. But in a borough where poverty is roughly in the high-20s to around 30 percent, many local owners do not have room for one bad month, one slow season, or one unexpected cost.
We will establish targeted subsidies and startup grants for Bronx-based small business owners and first-time entrepreneurs to help cover early costs like equipment, permitting, and buildout so neighborhood businesses can open, stabilize, and stay.