Committee on Small Business meeting
February 26, 2026, 1:00 PM
Jointly with the Committee on Public Safety.
The committee, meeting jointly with the Committee on Public Safety, held an oversight hearing on retail theft and heard two bills: Int 0553-2026, to establish a program addressing retail theft, and Int 0623-2026, to create a small business security measures pilot program.
What was discussed
- Co-Chairs Thomas-Henry and Feliz open the joint hearing on retail theft Council Member Shanel Thomas-Henry, Chair of the Committee on Small Business, and Council Member Oswald Feliz, Chair of the Committee on Public Safety, opened the joint oversight hearing on retail theft, framing small businesses as the backbone of the city's economy and previewing two bills: Feliz's
- NYPD and Small Business Services testify on retail theft and the security bills NYPD Deputy Chief Thomas Alps, Executive Officer of the Patrol Services Bureau, and Haris Khan, Chief of Staff at the Department of Small Business Services, testified on the administration's response to retail theft. Khan said SBS is 'fully aligned' with the goals of both Intro 553 and Intro 623
- Are retail-theft complaints rising, and how does the NYPD track and target offenders? Questioned by Co-Chairs Feliz and Thomas-Henry and Council Members Banks, Hankerson, and Cabán, Deputy Chief Thomas Alps said retail-theft complaints have declined from about 63,000 in 2022 to 59,131 in 2023 and 52,683 in 2025, that the large majority of theft is committed by individuals rather than
- What existing programs help small businesses pay for security, and are the two bills redundant? Haris Khan of SBS told Council Members Hanif, Santosuosso, Gutiérrez, Hankerson, and the co-chairs that there is no dedicated grant for security cameras, but pointed to the Fusus camera-integration program, a business preparedness and resiliency grant, an underused state tax credit, and a larger
- Business and retail groups urge reviving the retail-theft task force and funding security Kelsey Dorado Bobersky of the Retail Council of New York State urged the city to continue the state Retail Theft Task Force, calling it the single most effective step. Frank Garcia of the National Association of Latino State Chambers pushed for multilingual panic buttons for bodegas, Pedro Suarez of
- Public defenders and privacy advocates oppose expanded surveillance under Intro 623 Laura Morraf, a Staff Attorney in the Legal Aid Society's Digital Forensics Unit, testified in opposition to Intro 623, warning it would increase surveillance of New Yorkers. Alissa Johnson of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (STOP) raised similar privacy concerns, and Gina Mitchell of
Agenda
3 items
- T2026-0999 Oversight - Retail Theft. Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0553-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to establishing a program to provide financial assistance to small retail businesses for the purchase of security system technology Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0623-2026 A Local Law in relation to establishing a small business security measures pilot program, and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof Hearing Held by Committee