FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 27, 2020

New Way for Businesses and Nonprofits to Apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans & Updated Guidance on Definitions of Essential Entities

New City, NY, - Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Director of Economic Development & Tourism Jeremy Schulman alert businesses to an additional way to apply for funding through the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.

Under this program, small businesses may apply for working capital loans of up to $2 million that can provide vital economic support to businesses in need in response to the public health crisis. Small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories are currently eligible to apply for a long-term low-interest loan due to Coronavirus (COVID-19).

As New York State and Rockland County continue to monitor the latest developments surrounding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis, there is now an alternative method for businesses and nonprofits to apply for funding through the SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. For more information on how to complete the application, businesses may visit https://disasterloan.sba.gov/apply-for-disaster-loan/index.html.

For those requiring additional assistance with completing the application, they may visit www.nysbdc.org for online assistance. To request a no-cost, confidential appointment with a local SBDC Advisor, please visit http://www.nysbdc.org/selector/ReqForCons/formo.aspx.

Businesses can also view a webinar hosted by the Rockland County Department of Economic Development & Tourism, Rockland Community College's SBDC (Small Business Development Center) and the Rockland Business Association on SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans here: https://www.facebook.com/rocklandgov/videos/161897121566588/.

The following amendments were made to NYS Executive Order 202.6 by which only organizations and entities deemed "Essential Businesses" according to this Executive Order are exempt from these restrictions. The full list can be found here: https://esd.ny.gov/guidance-executive-order-2026.

UPDATED GUIDANCE as of 3/27/20

(Previous designations that are inconsistent with the revised guidance are no longer valid.)

For purposes of Executive Order 202.6, "Essential Business" means businesses operating in or as:

5. Essential services including

• Bicycle repair
• Laundromats and other clothing/fabric cleaning services
• Automotive sales conducted remotely or electronically, with in-person vehicle return and delivery by appointment only

9. Construction

• All non-essential construction must shut down except emergency construction, (e.g. a project necessary to protect health and safety of the occupants, or to continue a project if it would be unsafe to allow to remain undone until it is safe to shut the site).
• Essential construction may continue and includes roads, bridges, transit facilities, utilities, hospitals or health care facilities, affordable housing, and homeless shelters. At every site, if essential or emergency non-essential construction, this includes maintaining social distance, including for purposes of elevators/meals/entry and exit. Sites that cannot maintain distance and safety best practices must close and enforcement will be provided by the state in coordination with the city/local governments. This will include fines of up to $10,000 per violation.
• For purposes of this section construction work does not include a single worker, who is the sole employee/worker on a job site.

For more COVID-19 related business resources, visit Empire State Development at esd.ny.gov.

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